COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Antisocial Behaviour

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many anti-social behaviour injunctions have been issued since April 2007.

Parmjit Dhanda: Social landlords (including local authorities and registered social landlords) can apply for injunctions to tackle antisocial behaviour under the Housing Act 1996. These are commonly known as antisocial behaviour injunctions. Using their powers under the Local Government Act 1972, local authorities may also apply to the civil courts for injunctions to restrain antisocial behaviour that constitutes a public nuisance.
	Large registered social landlords (those owning and/or managing 1,000 or more units/bedspaces) successfully applied for 1,319 antisocial behaviour injunctions from April 2007 to March 2008. These figures were collected by the Housing Corporation. Figures for smaller registered social landlords are not available.
	The Department has asked local authorities to submit information for 2007-08 on antisocial behaviour injunctions and those injunctions available to them under the Local Government Act 1972. These figures are not yet available.

Departmental Expenditure

Edward Timpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to Annex B, Table 1 of her Department's annual report 2008, what proportion of the provision recorded as unallocated for  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10 and  (c) 2010-11 has now been allocated.

Parmjit Dhanda: None. Any changes involving proposed use of Departmental Unallocated Provision for 2008-09 will be included in the Department's Winter or Spring Supplementary Estimates and accompanying Ministerial Statements to the House. As yet, none of the 2009-10 and 2010-11 allocations have been allocated to a programme.

Housing: Floods

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of  (a) the number of households displaced and  (b) the amount of uninsured losses caused by the recent flooding, broken down by local authority area.

John Healey: An assessment of the impact of the recent flooding is still being made and it is too early, at this stage, to assess how many households will be out of their homes for a significant period. Information by area is not available but in Morpeth, the worst affected area, it was estimated that around 500 residents attended the emergency rest centres. The information needed to assess the level of uninsured losses could only be gathered at disproportionate cost.

Local Authorities: Complaints

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many complaints the Standards Board for England has investigated in each of the last 10 years; and what the  (a) outcome of the investigation and  (b) consequent action taken was in each case.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Standards Board for England came into existence in 2001 and its first full year of operation was 2002-03. The following tables show the number of investigations dealt with per financial year and the outcomes of those investigations, and the consequent action taken in each case.
	
		
			  Number of investigations and their outcome 
			  Investigation findings  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 No evidence of breach 114 154 310 119 128 73 
			 No further action 211 462 947 459 182 126 
			 No further action taken as there was no power to refer a matter locally 30 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Referred to local authority standards committee n/a 58 78 66 12 15 
			 Referred to Adjudication Panel for England (1)109 87 111 94 9 8 
			 Direction to monitoring officer for other action n/a n/a 0 12 46 71 
			
			 Total cases 466 761 1,446 750 377 364 
			 (1 )One of which was an interim report 
		
	
	
		
			  Consequent action 
			  Sanctions  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 No breach 1 6 12 15 6 2 
			 Censure — 18 26 18 — 1 
			 Suspension and training — — — — 1 2 
			 Suspension 1 39 53 49 5 7 
			 Suspension and censure — — — — — 2 
			 Censure and training — — — — — 1 
			 Suspension and apology — — — — — 1 
			 Suspension or apology/training — — — — 2 — 
			 Suspension, training and apology — — — — — — 
			 Censure, training and apology — — — — — — 
			 No further action 1 7 15 29 5 — 
			 Partial suspension — 1 — 3 — — 
			 Partial suspension, training and apology — — — — 1 — 
			 Partial suspension, training, apology and censure — — — — 1 — 
			 Suspension, training and censure — — — — — — 
			 Training — — — — 1 1 
			 Apology — — — — — — 
			 Apology and training — — — — 2 — 
			 Withdrawn/other — 1 — 1 — — 
			 Disqualified 27 97 25 31 6 7 
		
	
	This table reflects that in some cases the investigation and subsequent action were in different financial years, and that for some cases there were two or more consequent actions taken.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she will answer the letter of 4 August 2008 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Rev David Gray.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Secretary of State has now replied to my right hon. Friend.

Planning: South East

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to ensure that responses to the current South East Plan consultation made in writing but not on an official Government Office for the South East response form will be fully considered as part of the consultation process.

Parmjit Dhanda: We have set up a consultation portal
	http://gose.limehouse.co.uk/portal
	in order to make it easier for people to respond electronically. However, we will, of course, consider written representation whether using the comments form or not.

Repossession Orders

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes were repossessed  (a) in each local housing authority area and  (b) nationwide in each of the last four quarters for which figures are available.

Parmjit Dhanda: There are two independent sources of data on actual numbers of mortgage possessions, the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Financial Services Authority. However, both are only available for the United Kingdom as a whole.
	The Council of Mortgage Lenders data is available on its website at
	http://www.cml.org.Uk/cml/filegrab/3AP4.xls?ref=2753
	The Financial Services Authority data is available on its website at
	http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Doing/Regulated/Returns/IRR/statistics/

Respite Care

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information is collected by local authorities on the number and percentage of disabled children in each locality accessing short breaks services; what analysis her Department has made of such data; and if she will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
	Although local authority data on disabled children's access to short break services is not currently available, the Department for Children, Schools and Families has asked authorities to begin to collect this data as part of the Children in Need (CIN) Census. The first CIN Census is a child-level data collection that will run from 1 October 2008 to 31 March 2009. Data will be submitted to the Department by the end of June 2009 and published in autumn 2009. Figures on the number of children accessing short breaks will then be provided through the CIN Census on an annual basis for each financial year from 2009-10 onwards.
	For a limited period beginning in April 2009, the DCSF will also monitor local authority progress in growing short break services through complementary information collected as part of the Aiming High for Disabled Children delivery programme.

Standards Board for England: Finance

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) administration costs and  (b) average costs per case for the Standards Board for England were in each of the last 10 years.

Parmjit Dhanda: Average costs per case are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 6,492 
			 2005-06 6,380 
			 2006-07 6,765 
			 2007-08 11,817 
		
	
	The Standards Board does not disaggregate administration costs, which are included in the figures.

HEALTH

Allotments

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the public health effects of people maintaining allotments.

Ben Bradshaw: No specific considerations have been given to the health benefits of maintaining an allotment, but cultivating an allotment represents a rewarding opportunity for building physical activity into everyday life for those seeking an alternative to sport or other structured exercise. There is also evidence that exercising in a natural environment can bring additional benefits for health and wellbeing.
	There is also value in children growing their own food and recognising where food comes from as a real incentive to eating their Five a Day.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which areas of England bowel cancer screening has not yet commenced.

Ben Bradshaw: We are continuing to roll out the National Health Service Bowel Cancer Screening Programme and expect it to be fully implemented by December 2009. The following table lists the remaining primary care trusts where bowel cancer screening will commence in the final roll out.
	
		
			  Strategic health authority  Primary care trust 
			 East Midlands Lincolnshire 
			 East of England Luton 
			 East of England South East Essex 
			 East of England Bedfordshire 
			 East of England Peterborough 
			 East of England West Essex 
			 East of England North East Essex 
			 East of England Mid Essex 
			 East of England South West Essex 
			 London Bromley 
			 London Bexley Care Trust 
			 London Havering 
			 North West Blackburn with Darwen 
			 North West Stockport 
			 North West Tameside and Glossop 
			 North West East Lancashire 
			 North West Trafford 
			 South Central Oxfordshire 
			 South Central Isle of Wight 
			 South Central Milton Keynes 
			 South Central Buckinghamshire 
			 South East Coast Brighton and Hove City 
			 South East Coast Surrey 
			 South East Coast East Sussex Downs and Weald 
			 South East Coast Hastings and Rother 
			 South East Coast Eastern and Coastal Kent 
			 South East Coast Medway 
			 South East Coast West Kent 
			 South West Bath and North East Somerset 
			 South West Swindon 
			 South West Wiltshire 
			 South West Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 
			 South West South Gloucestershire 
			 South West North Somerset 
			 South West Bristol 
			 West Midlands Telford and Wrekin 
			 West Midlands Herefordshire 
			 West Midlands South Birmingham 
			 West Midlands Shropshire County 
			 West Midlands Worcestershire 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Wakefield District 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Calderdale 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Leeds 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Kirklees

Dementia: Expenditure

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much expenditure his Department allocated to services for people with dementia-related illnesses resident in  (a) Westmorland and Lonsdale,  (b) Morecombe Bay Primary Care Trust area,  (c) the North West region and  (d) England in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is not held centrally.

Disabled Children

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information is gathered by primary care trusts on the number and percentage of disabled children in each catchment area accessing universal and specialist services; what collation of such information his Department has undertaken; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is not available centrally. However, as part of the Public Service Agreement on the health and wellbeing of children, a disability indicator is being developed. This will be measured at local level from 2009-10.

Eyesight: Voucher Schemes

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons NHS optical vouchers cannot be issued following a private sight test.

Ben Bradshaw: National health service optical vouchers provide access to public funds and can only be issued following an NHS funded sight test. Optometrists and ophthalmic medical practitioners who conduct NHS funded sight tests must be approved and included on a primary care trust (PCT) performers list. As part of that approved role, they will also issue NHS optical vouchers.
	The issuing of an optical voucher, following an NHS sight test by practitioners on a PCT performers list, provides protection to ensure that public funds are properly spent and vouchers issued appropriately, and provides a system of accountability to the NHS. If there is evidence of malpractice, the NHS can take steps against the practitioner, including if necessary, removing them from the performers list, which would prevent them for carrying out NHS funded sight tests and issuing optical vouchers. PCTs do not have the same remedies available in the case of private practitioners.

Health Services: Finance

Jeremy Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the average cost was of a visit to a patient by the out of hours service in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the average cost was of a consultation by the out of hours service in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  what the average cost of an out of hours service telephone call providing advice or guidance was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is not held by the Department.
	Primary care trusts (PCTs) now have a legal responsibility to ensure they provide, or secure provision of a high- quality, sustainable service for their local population. Therefore, it is the responsibility of PCTs to performance- manage the provision of out of hours service.

Measles: Vaccination

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of the level of immunisation against measles in east London; whether he plans to promote a programme for greater immunisation amongst those deemed most vulnerable; whether a separate measles vaccination is provided in circumstances in which parents prefer that option; what recent representations his Department has received on the computer system used to manage immunisation records; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Information on vaccination uptake levels by primary care trusts is published annually by the Information Centre (a copy of the most recent report 'NHS Immunisation Statistics, England: 2006-07' has already been placed in the Library). The Department is concerned about the low levels of MMR immunisation generally, and London in particular. In order to reduce the risk of measles outbreaks, an MMR catch-up campaign for England was launched on 6 August 2008. The letter from the Chief Medical Officer to primary care trusts details the priority groups that are most in need of the MMR immunisation.
	The NHS does not recommend single measles, mumps or rubella vaccines because there is no evidence to support the use of single vaccines or to suggest that they are in any way "safer" than MMR. Every independent expert group around the world (including the World Health Organisation) supports the use of MMR, and none support the use of single vaccines.
	The Department is an observer on the Child Health Board which is managing the implementation of the IT system that will replace Child Health Interim Application (CHIA) or London. London primary care trusts are represented on the board and can make representations regarding CHIA at this forum.

Medical Treatments: Lasers

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the deregulation of class 3B and 4 lasers and intense-pulsed light equipment will require  (a) primary and  (b) secondary legislation.

Ben Bradshaw: The regulation or deregulation of class 3B and 4 lasers and intense pulsed light equipment could be achieved using secondary legislation.

NHS Direct

Jeremy Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost to his Department is of a telephone call to the NHS Direct line, including the cost of staffing and other overheads.

Ben Bradshaw: The average cost of a telephone call to NHS Direct was £15.35 in 2007-08.
	The figure is based on an average cost of all calls to NHS Direct, including calls to the 0845 4647 number, the Appointments Line and other services.

NHS: Finance

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the maximum debt that can be taken on by each  (a) NHS trust and  (b) NHS foundation trusts; and what each such trust's assets were at the latest date for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: When it is necessary for a national health service trust to borrow for capital investment or working capital, the level of borrowing is primarily determined by its ability to service the debt. To inform its decision the Department calculates prudential borrowing limits for each NHS trust using a similar basis to that applied by Monitor to NHS foundation trusts (NHSFTs) under its prudential borrowing code. However, for NHS trusts, the Department ultimately makes the decision about how much capital or working capital is required and the source of finance.
	The following information in respect of NHS trusts has been placed in the Library:
	Prudential borrowing limits relating to 2008-09 for NHS trusts based on 2007-08 annual accounts data; and
	Total value of assets held at 31 March 2008 for NHS trusts in existence on that date.
	The information requested in relation to NHSFTs is not held centrally and is a matter for individual organisations. However, the annual reports and accounts of NHSFTs are publicly available on Monitor's website
	www.monitor-nhsft.gov.uk
	The amount that NHSFTs can borrow is calculated in accordance with the Prudential borrowing code which is also available from Monitor. Individual borrowing limits have also been published by Monitor (the statutory name of which is the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts) in "NHS Foundation Trusts: Review and Consolidated Accounts 2006-07". As at 31 March 2007, the long term borrowing limit for 59 NHSFTs amounted to £2.2 billion which is in addition to working capital facilities of £884 million. As at 31 March 2008, for 89 NHSFTs these amounts had increased to£3.2 billion and £1.2 billion respectively.

NHS: Intimidation

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what incidences of bullying of  (a) NHS and  (b) his Department's staff have been reported in the last 12 months.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not collect data on specific incidences of bullying within the national health service; these are investigated at a local level.
	However, information from staff is available from the NHS Staff survey. The survey is a key source of information relating to a range of workforce issues in the NHS and is undertaken annually. The results of the survey are used locally to drive improvement.
	The 2007 NHS Staff survey shows that 18 per cent. of staff indicated that they had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from other staff in the previous 12 months, while 26 per cent. of staff indicated that they had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from patients or their relatives in the previous 12 months.
	Following the NHS Staff survey results, the issue of harassment, bullying and abuse is one of the five key priorities that the National Social Partnership Forum (SPF) is taking forward. The SPF (employers, NHS trade unions and Department of Health working together on workforce issues) has sponsored work with NHS staff and managers to educate and train them to recognise, prevent and deal with bullying and harassment.
	Within the Department, there have been five incidences of bullying reported in the last 12 months. This represents at most 0.2 per cent. of staff.

NHS: Northampton

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much NHS spending there was in Northampton in each year between 1998 and 2008.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is not available in the format requested. However, expenditure reported by the Northampton Teaching Primary Care Trust between 2002-03 and 2005-06 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Expenditure (£000) 
			 2002-03 175,926 
			 2003-04 215,924 
			 2004-05 229,430 
			 2005-06 254,423 
			  Notes: 1. The Department holds no accounts figures by individual national health service organisations prior to 2000-01. In 2000-01 and 2001-02, the majority of the expenditure within Northampton was by the Northamptonshire Health Authority. Therefore, expenditure solely within Northampton cannot be separately identified. 2. Northampton Teaching PCT was established on 1 April 2002 and dissolved on 30 September 2006. Northamptonshire Teaching PCT included expenditure from the Northampton Teaching PCT in 2006-07 in its accounts and therefore cannot be separately identified. 3. Northampton Teaching PCT was merged with the Northamptonshire Heartlands PCT and the Daventry and South Northamptonshire PCT in October 2006 to form the Northamptonshire Teaching PCT. 4. This does not include all NHS spending within the Northampton area, as the element of spending by the East Midlands Strategic Health Authority within Northampton cannot be identified. 5. General dental services expenditure was accounted for by the Dental Practice Board and not by the PCT. Audited figures for Northampton cannot therefore be supplied. 6. The majority of pharmaceutical services expenditure was accounted for by the Prescription Pricing Authority and not by the PCT. Audited figures for Northampton cannot therefore be supplied. 7. Owing to lead commissioning arrangements where the lead PCT commissions on behalf of other consortium members, figures may not be consistent over time.  Source:  Audited summarisation schedules of Northampton Teaching PCT for 2002-03 to 2005-06.

NHS: Standards

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will publish the targets set under the NHS efficiency index;
	(2)  whether the NHS efficiency target index is in operation.

Ben Bradshaw: There is not a national health service efficiency target index. As part of the last Comprehensive Spending Review settlement, the NHS is committed to delivering, over the period 2008-09-2010-11, 3 per cent. year-on-year efficiency improvements, which are cash-releasing, sustained and net of costs. This equates to annual savings of over £8 billion by 2010-11. The Department described its approach to delivering these savings in its "Value for Money Delivery Agreement", published in December 2007, and will report publicly on progress, including in its autumn performance report.

Nutrition

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 26 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 519-22W, on NHS: Personal Records, how many nutrition-related adverse incidents were recorded in each month between January 2005 and December 2007 in each primary care trust area;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2008,  Official Report, column 911W, on NHS: Personal Records, if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the reports of nutrition-related adverse incidents made in the last 30-day period for which such reports are available.

Ben Bradshaw: Information about nutrition-related adverse incidents in each primary care trust area is not held by the Department. The National Patient Safety Agency's National Reporting and Learning System does not capture the primary care trust area of residence of the patient involved in an adverse incident. The strategic health authority (SHA) analysis, provided in the reply to the earlier question, is based on the SHA that each NHS trust is aligned to, but those catchment areas do not map readily to primary care trust boundaries.
	Reports of nutrition-related adverse incidents are not held centrally.

Slaughterhouses

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abattoirs there were in England in each of the last 20 years, broken down by  (a) county and  (b) size.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of abattoirs in England 1996—2008 by county 
			  County  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Avon 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 2 
			 Bedfordshire 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 
			 Berkshire 2 2 3 2 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 
			 Buckinghamshire 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 
			 Cambridgeshire 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 
			 Cheshire 17 17 17 17 16 16 15 15 13 13 13 12 
			 Cleveland 8 8 9 8 6 6 4 4 4 4 4 4 
			 Cornwall 14 13 14 14 13 13 13 13 12 13 13 11 
			 County Durham 7 6 6 6 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 
			 Cumbria 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 10 11 
			 Derbyshire 23 23 24 23 20 19 13 13 13 13 13 12 
			 Devon 20 20 22 19 19 19 17 19 18 19 18 16 
			 Dorset 7 7 6 5 5 5 5 5 6 5 5 5 
			 Durham 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 
			 East Sussex 5 5 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 
			 East Yorkshire 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
			 Essex 14 15 16 16 15 16 13 12 12 12 12 12 
			 Gloucestershire 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 
			 Greater London 4 4 4 4 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 2 
			 Greater Manchester 15 15 15 14 13 11 10 11 10 10 9 10 
			 Hampshire 6 6 6 5 5 4 3 2 2 1 2 2 
			 Herefordshire 8 8 10 9 6 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 
			 Hertfordshire 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 
			 Humberside 7 7 7 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 
			 Kent 7 7 7 7 7 8 7 7 7 7 7 7 
			 Lancashire 24 24 24 22 19 20 18 18 15 15 14 13 
			 Leicestershire 15 16 15 14 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 10 
			 Lincolnshire 25 25 24 23 21 20 21 21 20 19 18 16 
			 Merseyside 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 
			 Norfolk 25 24 26 23 23 21 19 18 19 18 14 14 
			 North Somerset 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 
			 North Yorkshire 27 27 26 27 21 18 19 20 18 17 15 15 
			 Northamptonshire 8 8 7 7 6 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 
			 Northumberland 1 1 1 1 1 1 . 1 1 1 0 0 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 8 7 7 7 8 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 
			 Oxfordshire 5 5 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
			 Shropshire 7 8 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 
			 Somerset 13 15 14 14 14 14 14 13 13 12 11 10 
			 South Yorkshire 8 8 8 8 6 7 6 7 7 6 6 7 
			 Staffordshire 29 28 27 25 26 23 23 23 21 21 18 17 
			 Suffolk 17 16 16 16 15 16 14 13 13 12 12 13 
			 Surrey 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
			 Tyne and Wear 5 5 5 5 4 4 5 5 5 5 3 3 
			 Warwickshire 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 5 5 4 
			 West Midlands 22 22 23 23 22 21 16 17 17 15 15 16 
			 West Sussex 3 3 3 2 2 1 0 1 2 2 2 1 
			 West Yorkshire 26 27 22 20 18 18 18 17 18 17 15 15 
			 Wiltshire 6 6 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 
			 Worcestershire 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
			 Total 492 492 482 455 417 403 375 374 363 349 329 318 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of abattoirs in England 1996—2008 by size 
			   Live stock units per week  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Small 1 to 99 L.U.s 173 182 176 166 135 138 119 126 117 110 102 92 
			   
			 Medium 100 to 999 L.U.s 124 110 111 95 99 92 88 85 87 87 84 86 
			   
			 Large 1,000 to 2499 L.U.s 59 60 51 57 47 55 45 48 48 46 50 48 
			   
			 Very large More than 2,500 L.U.s 136 140 144 137 136 118 123 115 111 106 93 92 
			   
			 Total  492 492 482 455 417 403 375 374 363 349 329 318 
			  Notes: 1. The Meat Hygiene Service only holds data from 1996. 2.One livestock unit equals: One bovine Seven pigs 20 sheep (over 18 kg) 450 poultry (less than 2 kg)

Warwickshire Primary Care Trust

Jeremy Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by Warwickshire Primary Care Trust on  (a) district nurses and  (b) management costs in 2007-08.

Ben Bradshaw: Information on management cost data will be available from the 2007-08 audited accounts. However, this information will not be available until later in the autumn. Information on district nursing spending is not held centrally.

Worthing and Southlands Hospital Trust

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in relation to the NHS IT system Cerner release zero introduced to the Worthing and Southlands Hospital Trust, what benefits were expected as a result of the introduction of the system; who initiated its introduction; whether the expected benefits have been realised; what estimate he has made of the cost of the introduction; who is responsible for negotiating with contractors for the support and upgrading of the system; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Cerner was selected as a subcontractor for the provision of secondary care systems across the South of England by the then national programme for information technology (NPfIT) local service provider (LSP), Fujitsu. Contracts with LSPs under NPfIT are held and negotiated by NHS Connecting for Health on behalf of the Secretary of State.
	The R0 version was the first software release in a programme of continuing releases, in accordance with the aims of the NPfTT. R0 is therefore the first step towards a clinically rich, integrated system whose benefits will include, over time, a patient administration system with integration with other systems and sophisticated reporting; order communications and diagnostics reporting, including all pathology and radiology tests and tests ordered in primary care; and scheduling for beds, tests and theatres.
	The Cerner product was introduced as part of the normal system deployment process managed by a joint team from Fujitsu and the strategic health authorities with the support of NHS Connecting for Health.
	The cost to Fujitsu of local deployments is covered within the overall LSP contract value. Information on any separate local costs incurred by Worthing and Southlands Hospital Trust arising from the deployment is not held centrally. This is normally part of the local financial planning process and the benefits are identified in the business case, although it is not expected that the full benefits will be realised until subsequent releases have been implemented.
	Responsibility for system support and software upgrading over the lifetime of the system lies with the LSP, and the cost is provided for in the LSP contract. Any additional or bespoke services requested by the trust are a matter between the trust and the LSP.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Children: Maintenance

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for how many cases the Child Support Agency has paid HM Revenue and Customs for referrals and income disclosure in each year since 1993; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 17 September 2008:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for how many cases the Child Support Agency has paid HM Revenue and Customs for referrals and income disclosure in each year since 1993; and if he will make a statement.
	Under the Service Level Agreement between the Child Support Agency and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Agency makes referrals to HMRC for non resident parent trace and earnings information. An agreed charge against the Agency is made for each referral to cover HMRC expenditure.
	Such information as is available is set out in the attached table, which shows separately the number of requests dealt with by HMRC where the Agency has made a request for information on the non-resident parent's income, and those made to trace the non-resident parent.
	Neither the Agency nor HMRC hold any details of referrals prior to 2002. Data is not available in either organisation concerning trace enquiries prior to 2005.
	
		
			  Financial year  2002 - 03  2003 - 04  2004 - 05  2005 - 06  2006 - 07  2007 - 08  2008 - 09( 1) 
			 Earning enquiries 18,681 24,108 26,936 26,917 36,657 40,599 4,503 
			 Trace enquiries (2)— (2)— (2)— 142,474 166,695 212,489 61,328 
			 Total 18,681 24,108 26,936 169,391 203,352 253,088 65,831 
			 (1) To date.  (2) Not available. 
		
	
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Departmental Manpower

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a copy of a list of non-executive directors employed by his Department, including the business units or areas of expertise for which they provide oversight and brief biographical information for each individual.

Anne McGuire: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Departmental Public Participation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what  (a) listening exercises and  (b) public forums his Department has held in each of the last two years; what the (i) purpose and (ii) cost was in each case; and who the private contractor was and how much it was paid in each case.

Anne McGuire: In the last two financial years, the DWP has conducted a number of public forums or listening exercises targeted specifically at the general public. Event management services were provided by private contractors for some of these. The information that is available is set out in the following table. Amounts paid to the external contractors in each case could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	As well as the public forums or listening exercises listed, DWP has engaged with a wide range of the public through online consultation and correspondence, and with stakeholder organisations.
	
		
			  Date  Event purpose  Venue  Contractor 
			 10 January 2007 Raise awareness of the work of Equality 2025 and encourage disabled people to apply for the Northern Ireland representative's post. Belfast City Council Not applicable 
			 27 March 2007 Indicators of equality consultation—How will we know we are making progress? Edinburgh n/a 
			 30 March 2007 Indicators of equality consultation—How will we know we are making progress? London n/a 
			 4 April 2007 Indicators of equality consultation—How will we know we are making progress? Manchester n/a 
			 10 May 2007 Consultation workshop—Independent Living Review Novotel, Bristol Offshoot 
			 15 May 2007 Consultation workshop—Independent Living Review NEC, Birmingham Offshoot 
			 22 May 2007 Consultation workshop—Independent Living Review Novotel, London Offshoot 
			 8 June 2007 Consultation workshop—Independent Living Review NEC, Manchester Offshoot

Fuel Direct Scheme

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many times the Fuel Direct option has been used by benefit recipients to pay their utility bills in each year since it was established; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many benefit recipients have used the Fuel Direct option to pay their utility bills in each quarter since it was established; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The Fuel Direct scheme has been in existence for over 30 years. Historical information is not available prior to 1994. The available information for the number of income support, pension credit and jobseeker's allowance claimants with deductions being made for gas and/or electricity is in the following table.
	
		
			  Quarter ending  Number of claimants with deductions for gas and electricity 
			 February 1994 301,700 
			 May 1994 306,700 
			 August 1994 305,200 
			 November 1994 294,500 
			 February 1995 287,000 
			 May 1995 286,200 
			 August 1995 280,300 
			 November 1995 266,300 
			 February 1996 251,600 
			 May 1996 239,700 
			 August 1996 227,800 
			 November 1996 206,600 
			 February 1997 203,400 
			 May 1997 186,700 
			 August 1997 170,500 
			 November 1997 154,500 
			 February 1998 143,200 
			 May 1998 132,700 
			 August 1998 122,200 
			 November 1998 107,900 
			 February 1999 98,800 
			 May 1999 93,200 
			 August 1999 86,500 
			 November 1999 79,700 
			 February 2000 75,600 
			 May 2000 73,400 
			 August 2000 72,500 
			 November 2000 67,500 
			 February 2001 65,400 
			 May 2001 64,200 
			 August 2001 62,500 
			 November 2001 59,200 
			 February 2002 57,000 
			 May 2002 56,100 
			 August 2002 55,000 
			 November 2002 52,800 
			 February 2003 51,200 
			 May 2003 51,100 
			 August 2003 51,600 
			 November 2003 49,400 
			 February 2004 47,300 
			 May 2004 47,800 
			 August 2004 48,400 
			 November 2004 48,200 
			 February 2005 48,000 
			 May 2005 49,900 
			 August 2005 52,300 
			 November 2005 51,600 
			 February 2006 52,400 
			 May 2006 52,600 
			 August 2006 53,500 
			 November 2006 53,400 
			 February 2007 54,300 
			 May 2007 55,300 
			 August 2007 54,900 
			  Notes: 1. Case loads are uprated to WPLS totals and rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Pension credit replaced IS MIG on 6 October 2003. 3. JSA data available from November 1996.  Source: DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample

Jobseeker's Allowance

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many new applications for jobseeker's allowance there were in each region in each month since January 2005; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The information has been placed in the Library.

National Insurance: Immigrants

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 15 July 2008,  Official Report, column 325W, on National Insurance: Immigrants, how many of the 3,275 cases in which the names or national insurance numbers (NINOs) given to the Security Industry Authority appeared to be false were cases in which a NINO was issued after the introduction of the right to work test in July 2006; how many of the 3,275 cased involved  (a) a false name and  (b) a false NINO; and what steps have been taken to prevent the issuing of NINOs on the basis of a false name since July 2006.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 22 July 2008
	 None of the national insurance numbers provided to the SIA had been issued by the Department for Work and Pensions to the 3,275 individuals concerned. In 1,873 cases the NINO provided did exist on the Department's Customer Information System (CIS) but was registered to a different name. In 1,402 cases the number did not exist on CIS at all. Where a potential criminal offence has been committed, details have been passed to the Department for Work and Pensions Fraud Investigation Service for investigation and, where appropriate, prosecution.
	It remains the legal responsibility of the employer to check that all their employees have the right to work in the United Kingdom. Employers have clear guidance on the documents they can accept as evidence of the right to work, and this does not include SIA licences or, in the absence of other specified documents, a national insurance number.
	Since 2001, the Department for Work and Pensions has had in place rigorous identity checking and verification procedures for all national insurance number applicants. In 2007-08, 759 applications were refused owing to suspect documentation and led to 181 successful prosecutions. Over the same period, a further 5,114 refusals were made on the basis of the applicant's failing to provide sufficient evidence of identity.

New Deal for Long-Term Unemployed

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of New Deal participants went into the 25 plus categories  (a) employment,  (b) employment and benefits,  (c) benefits—jobseeker's allowance,  (d) benefits—income support,  (e) benefits—incapacity benefit,  (f) benefits—income support and incapacity benefit,  (g) benefits—other/unknown benefits,  (h) other known destination and  (i) off benefits unknown destination within (i) two weeks, (ii) three months, (iii) six months and (iv) one year of leaving the programme in each year since 1997, broken down by Jobcentre Plus district.

Stephen Timms: New deal has been a success helping nearly 2 million people in to work. However, the characteristics of job seekers and the labour market have changed since the introduction of the new deal 10 years ago. That is why we are introducing a new flexible new deal which will offer a personalised approach to its customers. It will tailor the support available to them to their particular needs and to that of the local labour market enabling them to increase their chances of gaining not only employment but sustainable employment in which they can progress.
	The information has been placed in the Library.

New Deal for Young People

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of New Deal for Young People participants went into the categories  (a) employment,  (b) employment and benefits,  (c) benefits—jobseeker's allowance,  (d) benefits—income support,  (e) benefits—incapacity benefit,  (f) benefits—income support and incapacity benefit,  (g) benefits—other/unknown benefits,  (h) other known destination and  (i) off benefits unknown destination within (i) two weeks, (ii) three months, (iii) six months and (iv) one year of leaving the programme in each year since 1997, broken down by Jobcentre Plus district.

Stephen Timms: New deal has been a success helping nearly two million people in to work. However, the characteristics of job seekers and the labour market have changed since the introduction of the new deal 10 years ago. That is why we are introducing a new flexible new deal which will offer a personalised approach to its customers. It will tailor the support available to them to their particular needs and to that of the local labour market enabling them to increase their chances of gaining not only employment but sustainable employment in which they can progress.
	The information has been placed in the Library.

New Deal Schemes

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of  (a) New Deal for Young People leavers,  (b) New Deal for 25 plus leavers and  (c) leavers of all New Deals moved into sustained employment in each year since 1997, broken down by Jobcentre Plus district;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of leavers of all his Department's employment programmes moved into sustained employment in each year since 1997, broken down by Jobcentre Plus district.

Stephen Timms: New deal has been a success helping nearly 2 million people in to work. However, the characteristics of job seekers and the labour market have changed since the introduction of the new deal 10 years ago. That is why we are introducing a new flexible new deal which will offer a personalised approach to its customers. It will tailor the support available to them to their particular needs and to that of the local labour market enabling them to increase their chances of gaining not only employment but sustainable employment in which they can progress.
	The information requested on all new deals and all employment programmes is not available.
	The information on new deal for young people and new deal 25 plus has been placed in the Library.

Occupational Health: Waste Management

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a copy of the research report WR0217—Assessment of Occupational Health and Safety Risks of Waste Collection and Handling Systems, commissioned by the Health and Safety Executive.

Anne McGuire: This research report,
	"Collecting, transfer, treatment and processing household waste and recyclables. Assessment of the occupational health and safety risks of systems to provide HSE, local authorities, waste/recycling companies and others with data that will assist in the selection of the most appropriate system whilst meeting environmental targets"
	was published in January 2008 and is available via the Health and Safety Executives website:
	www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr609.htm
	where it is accompanied by an electronic database. A copy of the report has been forwarded to the House of Commons Library.

Pension Credit

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by his Department on backdated annual payments of pension credit  (a) in total and  (b) broken down by the smallest geographical area for which figures are available in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Precise information on the time customers take to claim pension credit (known as backdating) is not routinely collected, nor therefore is expenditure on backdating. Expenditure on backdating has been estimated using information on average awards and backdating periods. Backdating periods have been estimated by comparing information on the date entitlement starts and the date pension credit is put into payment. In some cases where payment starts after entitlement the delay will be due to processing times, evidence gathering and verification work which routinely accompanies claims for pension credit. In 2006-07 around 60 per cent. of all successful new claims were backdated for three months or less (this includes cases with zero backdating). The information that is available is in the following table.
	
		
			  Expenditure on pension credit backdating, by Government Office region (£ million) 
			   2003-04 (October-March)  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Total 80 330 190 150 
			 North East (1)— 10 10 10 
			 North West 10 40 20 20 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 10 30 20 10 
			 East Midlands 10 30 10 10 
			 West Midlands 10 30 20 10 
			 East of England 10 30 20 10 
			 London 10 40 30 20 
			 South East 10 40 20 20 
			 South West 10 30 20 10 
			 Wales (1)— 20 10 10 
			 Scotland 10 30 20 10 
			 (1) Estimates of less than £5 million.  Notes: 1. Care should be taken when interpreting the table. The Department does not routinely collect information on expenditure on backdated payments and it has been estimated using information on average awards and backdating periods. Backdating periods have been estimated by comparing information on the date entitlement starts and the date pension credit is put into payment. Estimated backdating periods therefore include unknown periods of time that are due to processing, evidence gathering and verification work which routinely accompany every claim for pension credit. 2. All figures are consistent with the 2008 Budget report. 3. Pension credit was introduced in October 2003, so expenditure figures are only available from this date. 4. Estimates of the expenditure on backdating have been rounded to the nearest £10 million.. Estimates at the local authority level are not sufficiently robust for publication. 5. Estimates for regions may not sum to totals due to rounding. The total also includes a small amount of expenditure where the region is not known.  Source: Experimental statistics of pension credit on flows and DWP accounting systems

Pensioners: Personal Income

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average income of the  (a) top and  (b) bottom quartile of (i) pensioners and (ii) pensioners over the age of 80 in each region was in each year since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: Information for those over the age of 80 is not available due to small sample sizes.
	The information for all pensioners is shown in the following tables. Figures are based on survey data and as such are subject to a degree of sampling and non-sampling error. Figures are based on the average of three years' data as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year-on-year changes. Users should not read too much into small differences between regions or between three-year averages, particularly for the top quartile, where estimates may be influenced by extreme values.
	
		
			  Average gross income of all pensioners in the top quartile of the income distribution of pensioner units in Great Britain by region 
			  £ per week (2006 - 07 prices) 
			   1997-98 to 1999-2000  1998-99 to 2000-01  1999-2000 to 2001-02  2000-01 to 2002-03  2001-02 to 2003-04  2002-03 to 2004-05  2003-04 to 2005-06  2004-05 to 2006-07 
			 North East 528 537 551 587 631 691 713 754 
			 North West and Merseyside 585 614 586 605 653 702 742 727 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 635 652 683 697 737 703 712 691 
			 East Midlands 550 563 583 619 654 689 695 737 
			 West Midlands 605 618 626 632 629 663 704 713 
			 East of England 655 662 667 700 711 728 720 741 
			 London 711 795 855 820 796 770 828 901 
			 South East 652 677 741 787 830 835 851 839 
			 South West 576 630 643 668 654 712 747 774 
			 Wales 521 522 551 588 653 662 680 675 
			 Scotland 583 605 611 622 621 668 684 727 
			 England 625 657 682 702 721 739 765 778 
			  
			 Great Britain 616 646 669 690 709 729 754 769 
		
	
	
		
			  Average gross income of all pensioners in the bottom quartile of the income distribution of pensioner units in Great Britain by region 
			  £ per week (2006 - 07 prices) 
			   1997-98 to 1999-2000  1998-99 to 2000-01  1999-2000 to 2001-02  2000-01 to 2002-03  2001-02 to 2003-04  2002-03 to 2004-05  2003-04 to 2005-06  2004-05 to 2006-07 
			 North East 118 125 131 137 142 144 148 147 
			 North West 114 118 124 129 133 138 142 143 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 119 124 128 133 138 142 143 144 
			 East Midlands 114 117 122 127 133 137 140 141 
			 West Midlands 114 119 124 128 132 135 140 141 
			 East of England 113 117 122 126 130 135 138 139 
			 London 108 110 115 120 123 127 128 131 
			 South East 111 117 120 124 129 135 138 138 
			 South West 112 116 123 126 131 135 137 138 
			 Wales 112 117 123 129 134 138 141 142 
			 Scotland 118 122 128 134 139 144 146 147 
			 England 114 118 123 127 131 136 139 140 
			  
			 Great Britain 114 118 123 128 132 137 140 141 
			  Notes: 1. Gross income is income from all sources received by the pensioner unit including income from social security benefits, earnings from employment, any private pension, and tax credits. 2. Figures show average income for pensioner units in each region within relevant quartile of the income distribution for Great Britain. 3. Based on survey data and as such subject to a degree of sampling and non sampling error. Figures are based on the average of three years' data as single year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year-on-year changes. Estimates for the highest quartile may be influenced by extreme values. Users should not read too much into small differences between regions. 4. Great Britain figures are included on the same basis for comparison: further information for single years at a national level are available in the publication "Pensioners' Income Series 2006-07". 5. Figures have been rounded to the nearest £. 6. Pensioner units are either pensioner couples or single pensioners. 7. Pensioner couples are couples where one or more of the adults are state pension age or over.  Source: Pensioners' Income Series 2006-07

Personal Accounts Delivery Authority: Consultants

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many consultants are employed by the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority; and how much the authority has spent on them.

Mike O'Brien: Setting up a pension scheme of the size and nature of the personal accounts scheme is a complex task and requires specialist skills. The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority needs to access a range of skills to support the development of the scheme, including skills most appropriately and efficiently provided through consultancy contracts.
	The Delivery Authority took responsibility for accounting for its own expenditure from 1 March 2008.
	The number of consultants employed by the Delivery Authority has varied over time in response to changing needs. During the period 1 March 2008 to 31 August 2008, PADA has engaged 21 consultants a month on average. These were recruited after a competitive tender exercise and in line with Office of Government Commerce procedures and best practice to secure value for money.
	The amount spent on consultants for work for the Delivery Authority from 1 March 2008 to 31 August 2008 is estimated to be around £4.6 million.
	From 1 August 2007 to 28 February 2008, the costs of the Delivery Authority were met directly from departmental budgets. The cost of consultancy in this period is estimated to be around £5.9 million.

Sight Impairment: Disability Living Allowance

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of awarding disability living allowance for severe sight impairment at the higher band to all those with severe sight impairment who claim the benefit.

Anne McGuire: The cost of extending entitlement to the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance to all people with severe sight impairments depends greatly on the precise definition used. One estimate made is that such a change would cost about £45 million in 2010-11, the earliest date at which such a change could be made.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Departmental ICT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what IT contracts the Government Equalities Office has entered into since its inception.

Barbara Follett: Since its establishment on 12 October 2007, the Government Equalities Office has been based within premises, which house the Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG). As a result, the GEO has a rental agreement with CLG which allows it to use their IT systems. Aside from this, the GEO has not entered into any IT contracts since its inception.

Equality

Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what discussions she has had with  (a) Cabinet and  (b) other ministerial colleagues on (i) departmental, (ii) sectoral and (iii) national strategies on age discrimination in the provision of goods and services and the promotion of age equality; and if she will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: During the development of proposals for the new Equality Bill I had discussions with Government colleagues at all levels in a number of key departments including the Department of Health, Department of Work and Pensions and the Treasury to discuss, amongst other things, our proposals to take a power in the Equality Bill to prohibit age discrimination in the provisions of goods, facilities and services and the exercise of public functions and to introduce a single public sector equality duty extended to cover age. Our proposals for the Bill were set out in the Government's response to the Discrimination Law Review consultation, which was published on July 21 this year.

Gender Discrimination

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government have taken to act upon the recommendations of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women since the 41st session of parties of 30 June to 18 July.

Barbara Follett: I will let the right hon. Member have such information as is available as soon as possible.

Rape: Victim Support Schemes

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what proportion of the £1 million emergency fund for rape crisis centres, announced in March, has been distributed; which organisations have received such funding; how much each organisation have received; and what plans the Government has to maintain the funding for the year starting April 2009.

Barbara Follett: I will let the right hon. Member have such information as is available as soon as possible.

TREASURY

Departmental Data Protection

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many data security breaches have been reported in his Department and its agencies in the last three months.

Angela Eagle: No data security breaches have been reported by the Treasury or its agencies.

Departmental Domestic Visits

John Howell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which parliamentary constituencies his predecessor visited between  (a) 8 June 2000 and 8 June 2001,  (b) 8 June 2001 and 8 June 2002,  (c) 8 June 2002 and 8 June 2003,  (d) 8 June 2003 and 8 June 2004 and  (e) 8 June 2004 and 6 May 2005; on what date each such visit occurred; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Angela Eagle: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Government Ministers regularly visit all parts of the country as part of the policy development process.

Departmental Domestic Visits

Lee Scott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many times his predecessor visited  (a) Cardiff,  (b) Edinburgh,  (c) Swansea,  (d) Glasgow,  (e) Aberdeen and  (f) Dundee between 6 May 2005 and 6 May 2006; on what dates such visits occurred; and what the purpose of each visit was;
	(2)  how many times his predecessor visited  (a) London,  (b) Birmingham,  (c) Manchester,  (d) Newcastle,  (e) Leeds,  (f) Sheffield,  (g) Liverpool and  (h) Bristol between (i) 8 June 2001 and 6 May 2002, (ii) 6 May 2002 and 6 May 2003, (iii) 6 May 2003 and 6 May 2004 and (iv) 6 May 2004 and 6 May 2005; on what dates such visits occurred; and what the purpose of each visit was.

Angela Eagle: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Government Ministers regularly visit all parts of the country as part of the policy development process.

Departmental Domestic Visits

Angela Browning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many times his predecessor visited  (a) London,  (b) Birmingham,  (c) Manchester,  (d) Newcastle,  (e) Leeds,  (f) Sheffield,  (g) Liverpool and  (h) Bristol between 6 May 2006 and 27 June 2007; on what dates such visits took place; and what the purpose of each such visit was;
	(2)  how many times his predecessor visited  (a) London,  (b) Birmingham,  (c) Manchester,  (d) Newcastle,  (e) Leeds,  (f) Sheffield,  (g) Liverpool and  (h) Bristol between 6 May 2005 and 6 May 2006; on what dates such visits took place; and what the purpose of each such visit was;
	(3)  how many times his predecessor visited  (a) Cardiff,  (b) Edinburgh,  (c) Swansea,  (d) Glasgow,  (e) Aberdeen and  (f) Dundee between 6 May 2006 and 27 June 2007; on what dates such visits occurred; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Angela Eagle: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Government Ministers regularly visit all parts of the country as part of the policy development process.

Departmental Domestic Visits

James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  which parliamentary constituencies his predecessor visited between 8 June 1999 and 8 June 2000; on what date each such visit took place; and what the purpose of each such visit was;
	(2)  which parliamentary constituencies his predecessor visited between 2 May 1997 and 8 June 1998; on what dates each such visit took place; and what the purpose of each visit was;
	(3)  which parliamentary constituencies his predecessor visited between 8 June 1998 and 8 June 1999; on what dates each such visit took place; and what the purpose of each visit was.

Angela Eagle: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Government Ministers regularly visit all parts of the country as part of the policy development process.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letters of  (a) 23 July 2008 with regard to Mr I Laing and  (b) 28 July 2008, transferred to him from the Home Office, with regard to Mr Sehir Hussain from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury could find no record of either correspondence being received and the right hon. Member's office has been informed.

Pensions

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what plans he has to allow the transfer of property and any respective debt secured on it from one provider to another as part of the self-invested pension plan where there are no tax implications;
	(2)  what plans he has to allow the switching of a pension scheme's assets and debt to a new self-invested pension plan or small self-administered scheme without having to requalify under the borrowing rules providing the condition that the property is not sold is met; and what assessment he has made of the extent to which such switching meets the aim of simplification of the process according to Government objectives;
	(3)  what plans he has to relax the borrowing rules for pensions under self-invested pension plans and small self-administered schemes for smaller pension funds allowing the fund owner to own property as part of that scheme providing that an element of debt is included also permitting property transactions which may be for residential property as part of those schemes.

Kitty Ussher: A self-invested or small self-administered pension scheme can transfer assets and associated borrowing to another such scheme provided these are within the limits on scheme borrowing. These limits allow borrowing of up to 50 per cent. of the value of the sums and assets held for the purposes of the member's arrangement under the scheme. This provides a prudent limit on such borrowings.
	The Government support the ability to choose a diverse range of assets, including commercial property to support pension saving in registered pension schemes. It also remains open to all schemes to invest indirectly in residential property so long as this is carried out through a genuinely diverse commercial vehicle.

PRIME MINISTER

Cabinet: Meetings

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Prime Minister on what occasions the Cabinet has met at times other than its regular meeting times since June 2007; which Cabinet Ministers did not attend the Cabinet meeting held in Birmingham in September 2008; when the media were first informed that the Cabinet would meet in Birmingham; and what costs arose from holding the meeting in Birmingham.

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Prime Minister what  (a) security,  (b) administration and  (c) other costs were incurred as a result of holding the meeting of the Cabinet in Birmingham on 8 September 2008.

Gordon Brown: Cabinet is usually held on Tuesday mornings. My spokesman announced on 4 August that Cabinet alongside a series of visits and a public engagement events would be held outside London
	(http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page16444).
	All Cabinet Ministers and Ministers attending Cabinet were present. The costs will be published shortly.

Departmental Domestic Visits

Angela Browning: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many official visits he has made to  (a) Cardiff,  (b) Edinburgh,  (c) Swansea,  (d) Glasgow,  (e) Aberdeen and  (f) Dundee since 27 June 2007; on what dates such visits occurred; and what the purpose of each such visit was;
	(2)  how many official visits he has made to  (a) London,  (b) Birmingham,  (c) Manchester,  (d) Newcastle,  (e) Leeds,  (f) Sheffield,  (g) Liverpool and  (h) Bristol since 27 June 2007; on what dates such visits occurred; and what the purpose was of each such visit.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement I made on Tuesday 22 July 2008,  Official Report, column 103-04WS.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has had made of the effects of his Department's budget overspend in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08 on (i) cashflow for payments under the Single Payment Scheme and (ii) delivery of other frontline services.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 10 September 2008
	In 2006-07, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs exceeded its capital budget by a net £17.4 million. This amount was subsequently deducted from the 2007-08 capital budget. Through normal in-year financial management, the Department was able to live within its revised budget, including coping with the emergency costs of floods and animal disease outbreaks. The Department protected ministerial priorities and avoided any additional burden on taxpayers over the two years.
	Payments under the Single Payment Scheme are funded in full from the European Union, so are not affected by budget changes. Delivery of frontline services in 2007-08 was not affected as their budgets had already been set by the time the capital budget reduction was known, and those frontline services budgets were not subsequently reduced.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the evidential basis is for the statement in his Department's 2008 annual report that the Government is on course to meet the 2008 target for limiting the spread of bovine tuberculosis.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 10 September 2008
	DEFRA's statement that we are on course to achieve
	"a reduction in the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) to new parishes to below the incremental trend of 17.5 confirmed new incidents per annum by the end of 2008"
	was based on the latest statistics available at the time the report was written.
	Our statistics show that in the 12 months up to September 2007, there were 236 confirmed new incidents of bTB in 'new' parishes i.e. those parishes where there had been no confirmed new bTB incidents during the previous four calendar years. The five-year average (mean) from October 2002 to September 2007 was 298.8 CNIs per year in new parishes compared to the previous five-year average (October 2001 to September 2006) of 316.6. So the PSA9 indicator at the end of September 2007 was 17.8 CNIs per annum. Bovine TB is cyclical in nature, with variations occurring both seasonally and over longer time scales, so care should be taken not to read too much into such short to medium-term changes. However, taking variations into account, we would expect the projected PSA9 indicator for the end of 2008 to be below the target of +17.5 CNIs per annum.

Departmental Overtime

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of overtime payments paid to staff in his Department was in each of the last 12 months, broken down by pay grade.

Jonathan R Shaw: The following table shows the amount of overtime paid to staff in each of the last 12 months, broken down by pay grade. The data covers staff in core-DEFRA and agencies covered by core-DEFRA pay arrangements (i.e. Animal Health, Marine and Fisheries Agency, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Government Decontamination Service and Pesticides Safety Directorate (which merged with the Health and Safety Executive on 1 April 2008)).
	
		
			  £ 
			   AA  AO  EO  HEO  FS  SEO  VO  G7  G6 
			  2007  
			 September 45,128 103,573 227,827 162,620 5,427 47,375 234,541 52,512 67,995 
			 October 47,570 92,356 202,807 142,397 3,786 43,473 224,251 50,592 102,909 
			 November 39,975 82,806 279,805 157,360 465 19,663 263,798 44,063 62,712 
			 December 23,027 57,901 177,452 106,901 8,084 39,170 137,779 62,428 38,348 
			 January 08 30,055 21,767 38,166 41,431 2,366 35,647 30,000 21,365 33,889 
			   
			  2008  
			 February 20,294 32,173 56,892 49,677 1,250 20,803 30,492 20,856 12,059 
			 March 13,209 15,041 41,023 22,787 4,122 13,954 20,831 8,900 7,169 
			 April 9,077 27,777 48,834 43,450 1,434 23,449 27,817 28,913 19,328 
			 May 5,684 18,175 36,104 38,070 3,788 16,357 16,170 34,667 5,662 
			 June 6,176 21,778 35,897 37,055 823 8,167 25,549 14,424 8,370 
			 July 8,052 38,349 74,013 62,590 2,282 30,782 56,146 31,061 16,520 
			 August 8,585 18,053 39,508 32,148 1,533 17,367 27,124 33,914 10,879 
			  Note: Grade equivalents: AA—Administration Assistant AO—Administration Officer EO—Executive Officer HEO—Higher Executive Officer FS—Fast Stream SEO—Senior Executive Officer VO—Veterinary Officer G7—Grade 7 G6—Grade 6

Departmental Public Participation

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Maidenhead of 12 May 2008,  Official Report, columns 1327-28W, on departmental public participation, if he will place in the Library copies of the  (a) Navigator research study on Waste Infrastructure,  (b) Scott Wilson research study on Public Understanding of Sustainable Transport and  (c) Social Research and Consultancy study on Consumer attitudes to waste efficiency.

Joan Ruddock: I am arranging for copies of the Scott Wilson research study on Public Understanding of Sustainable Transport and the Social Research and Consultancy study on Consumer attitudes to water efficiency to be placed in the Library of the House. The Navigator Waste Infrastructure Research study has not yet been completed.

Departmental Sick Pay

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff in  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility have received sick pay for sick leave due to (i) stress and (ii) mental health and behavioural disorders in each of the last 10 years; what the average length of time was for which sick pay was paid in these cases; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Tables showing the total number of staff who have received sick pay for sickness absence due to (i) stress and (ii) mental and behavioural disorders and the average length of time for which sick pay was paid in these cases, for the last four financial years is given as follows. Data prior to April 2004 is available only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Stress 
			  Financial year  Total number of staff  Average length of time sick pay paid (days) 
			 1 April 2007—31 March 2008 133 25.1 
			 1 April 2006—31 March 2007 167 25.8 
			 1 April 2005—31 March 2006 200 22.5 
			 1 April 2004—31 March 2005 101 32.7 
		
	
	
		
			  Mental health and behavioural disorders 
			  Financial year  Total number of staff  Average length of time sick pay paid 
			 1 April 2007—31 March 2008 130 30 
			 1 April 2006—31 March 2007 174 28.2 
			 1 April 2005—31 March 2006 208 29.3 
			 1 April 2004—31 March 2005 93 36.1 
		
	
	The data cover all staff in core-DEFRA and executive agencies covered by the core-Department's terms and conditions (i.e. Animal Health, Marine and Fisheries Agency, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Government Decontamination Service and Pesticides Safety Directorate (which merged with the Health and Safety Executive on 1 April 2008)).
	The data do not cover executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies which operate delegated pay arrangements, as this information could be provided, only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Sick Pay

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was paid in sick pay to staff in  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility in each of the last five years; what proportion of the staffing expenditure of each body this represented in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: A table showing the total cost of sick pay for staff in DEFRA for the last four financial years is as follows. Data prior to April 2004 are available only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Financial Year (1 April to 31 March each year)  Total cost of sick pay (£)  Proportion of staffing expenditure (%) 
			 2007-08 3,569,351 1.41 
			 2006-07 4,146,313 1.40 
			 2005-06 4,894,761 1.79 
			 2004-05 3,524,208 1.40 
		
	
	The data cover all staff in Core-DEFRA and those Executive Agencies covered by the core-department's terms and conditions (i.e. Animal Health, Marine and Fisheries Agency, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Government Decontamination Service and Pesticides Safety Directorate (which merged with the HSE on 1 Apr 08))
	Further information on the Department's other agencies and non-departmental public bodies is available only at disproportionate cost.

Dogs: Animal Welfare

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 on the behaviour of breeders of dogs; and what plans he has to reduce the number of young dogs in animal sanctuaries.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 10 September 2008
	Under the Breeding of Dogs Act 1973 and the Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999, anyone who is in the business of breeding and selling dogs requires a licence from their local authority. Under the legislation, local authorities have powers of entry and search and can decide whether a licence should be issued.
	In addition, the Animal Welfare Act 2006 provides that any owner or keeper must provide for the welfare needs of their animals (this requirement applies to breeders of dogs). Failure to provide for an animal's needs can result in a penalty of £5,000 and/or six months' imprisonment. The 2006 Act, which came into force last year, placed for the first time a statutory responsibility on owners and keepers to provide for the welfare needs of their animals. Anyone considering owning or keeping a dog should ensure that they are familiar with what is required and are prepared to meet the associated costs.
	I am satisfied that the existing legislation contains the necessary powers to enable enforcers to deal with any irresponsible dog breeders and owners.
	My Department is working with devolved Administrations to produce a code of practice on the keeping of dogs. The code will explain the essential requirements of keeping a dog and will be approved by Parliament. We expect to consult widely on a draft code before the end of the year.
	We hope this guidance will enable people to better understand the care that a dog requires and thus to reduce the number of dogs in animal sanctuaries.

Domestic Waste Management

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment the Waste and Resources Action Programme has made of the scope for monthly collections of household residual rubbish.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 15 September 2008
	 The Waste and Resources Action Programme has made no such assessment.

Fertilisers: Subsidies

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to assist farmers in meeting fertiliser costs; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 10 September 2008
	Current high energy prices are having a knock-on effect on the price of manufactured 'inorganic' fertilisers. Lord Rooker and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have discussed this issue with the Agricultural Industries Confederation, which represents the UK fertiliser sector. We are alert to the potential impact that high fertiliser prices may have on farmers and we will continue to monitor the situation; the fundamental cause is the rise in the price of oil.
	Farmers will want to do all they can to ensure efficient fertiliser use. Some farmers will also need to consider increased use of 'organic' fertilisers such as manures. Other options include the use of digestate from Anaerobic Digestion.

Pandas

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the policy of the Government is on the loaning of giant pandas to UK zoos for commercial purposes.

Joan Ruddock: International trade in giant pandas is strictly controlled under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and trade in them is facilitated by means of an import/export certification system, which is administered by Animal Health.
	Before granting a certificate to allow a captive-bred giant panda to be imported into this country, Animal Health would have to be satisfied that a number of strict conditions had first been met. For example, the UK's CITES Scientific Authority for fauna (the Joint Nature Conservation Committee) must assess whether the export would have a harmful effect on the conservation status of the species. The importer would also need to demonstrate that they had the housing and husbandry skills to conserve and care for the pandas adequately.
	If the giant panda was wild-caught, Animal Health would have to be satisfied that the animal would not be used for primarily commercial purposes; it could only be imported for essential biomedical research, or for breeding, research or educational purposes of benefit to the conservation of the species. There is nothing to preclude the issuing of licences to allow the commercial use of captive bred giant pandas. Applications of this nature would be dealt with on a case by case basis.

Plastic Bags

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  on what date a full life-cycle analysis of plastic carrier bags was first commissioned; and on what date it is expected to be published;
	(2)  what steps his Department has taken to produce a full life-cycle analysis of plastic carrier bags.

Joan Ruddock: The life cycle analysis of carrier bags is being carried out by the Environment Agency. It was commissioned in January 2006 and is expected to be published at the end of this year.
	The Environment Agency is looking at a range of carrier bags, including disposable plastic carrier bags and bio-degradable alternatives. The study is looking at their entire life-cycle from raw material extraction, through manufacture and use, to reuse, recycling and emissions from final disposal.

Waste Disposal

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what tonnage of wet waste was collected from  (a) households and  (b) businesses in each local authority area in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08;
	(2)  what tonnage of wet waste was anaerobically digested by local authorities or their contractors in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08; and what volume of biomethane was produced by these processes in each year.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 15 September 2008
	DEFRA does not hold the information requested.

Waste Disposal: Offenders

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fixed penalties for waste receptacle-related offences were issued in 2007-08.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 15 September 2008
	All local authorities and any other bodies with fixed penalty notice issuing powers must submit a returns form to the Local Environmental Quality division at DEFRA each year, detailing all the fixed penalty notices issued for relevant offences for that period. Data on the number of fixed penalty notices issued in 2007-08 for 'waste receptacles offences' will be published later this year on the DEFRA website.

Waste Disposal: Waste Management

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what records  (a) his Department and  (b) the Waste and Resources Action Programme holds on which waste collection authorities have adopted collection policies which prohibit side waste.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 15 September 2008
	 Neither my Department nor the Waste and Resources Action Programme hold records of which waste collection authorities prohibit side waste.

Waste Management

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what quantity of green list wastes was exported to non-OECD countries in the last five years; and to which companies this waste was exported in the receiving countries.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 10 September 2008
	Where non-hazardous wastes (such as separated recyclables) are exported, they are generally subject only to commercial controls, and not to the prior notification and consent procedures which apply to exports of hazardous wastes. Precise data on the amounts and destinations of exported recyclables are not, therefore, available.
	However, by using HM Revenue and Customs trade data it is possible to estimate that 8.4 million tonnes of green list waste was exported from the UK to countries outside the EU (including non-EU OECD countries) in 2006. This data are indicative, since the categories used to collect trade data are not identical to those used to collect data on waste.

Weed Control

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many enforcement notices he has served on landowners under the Weeds Act 1959 in relation to  (a) ragwort,  (b) spear thistle,  (c) creeping field thistle,  (d) broad leaved dock and  (e) curled dock in each year since 2004.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 15 September 2008
	Separate figures for the number of enforcement notices served for each of the five weeds covered by the Weeds Act 1959 are not available, however the majority of enforcement notices served relate to Common Ragwort ( senecio jacobaea). The total number of enforcement notices served is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004 (1)22 
			 2005 77 
			 2006 19 
			 2007 52 
			 2008 (to end August) 14 
			 (1) This is an approximate figure because the number of enforcement notices served in the period July to December in relation to weeds complaints handled at that time by DEFRA's Crewe office, are not available.  Note: All figures relate to England.

Weed Control

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received in relation to ragwort in the last 12 months.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 15 September 2008
	In the last 12 months, Natural England, the Agency responsible for investigating complaints relating to the Weeds Act 1959, received 330 forms of complaint, mostly about Common Ragwort. DEFRA have also received approximately 190 pieces of general correspondence about ragwort, but we cannot give details of the specific categories of that correspondence.

Weed Control

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consideration he has given to reviewing the regulations and legislation governing ragwort with a view to updating the provisions; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 15 September 2008
	The administrative procedures for investigating complaints about ragwort and the other weeds covered by the Weeds Act 1959 were reviewed and updated in 2004. We have no current plans to review the Weeds Act 1959.

Weed Control

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to next review the code of practice on ragwort.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 15 September 2008
	 : The "code of practice on how to prevent the spread of Ragwort" was published in July 2004 and we have no immediate plans to review it.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Carbon Capture: Operating Costs

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the  (a) capital and  (b) operating costs of the winning carbon capture and storage demonstration project proposal.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 15 September 2008
	Given the unique nature of this project it is difficult to provide a definitive assessment of costs. It is also the case that the final cost may vary significantly according to the design of the winning project. We expect to develop a much clearer picture of both capital and operating costs during the competition process as we undertake detailed negotiations with the four pre-qualified Bidders.

Departmental Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by special advisers in his Department in each of the last 10 years.

Gareth Thomas: Since the formation of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on 28 June 2008, reimbursable expenses claimed by the Special Advisers have totalled £2,497.43.

Electricity: Meters

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made on reducing the tariffs for electricity on pre-payment meters.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 10 September 2008
	We announced in Budget 2008 that the Secretary of State was prepared, to use his statutory powers with a view to reducing the differential between prepayment and other forms of payment for both gas and electricity.
	Ofgem is currently investigating tariff differentials as part of its probe into the energy market. Initial findings are expected shortly.
	If Ofgem's analysis does show that prepayment meter customers are suffering disadvantage then we will in the first instance expect Ofgem and the energy suppliers to provide the solution. If sufficient progress is not made by this winter 2008/09, the Secretary of State is prepared to consult on legislation, with a view to reducing unjustified tariff differentials.

Energy: Conservation

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimates his Department has made of the potential reduction in energy consumption by replacing D-rated and below energy circulator pumps with A-rated energy circulator pumps in  (a) domestic and  (b) non-domestic properties in the UK.

Malcolm Wicks: BERR has not made estimates for reduced energy consumption for these products. We of course welcome efficiency measures to reduce energy consumption and encourage companies to seek guidance on reducing energy use from bodies such as the Carbon Trust. BERR works closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who, as Whitehall policy lead, is considering the energy efficiency of products particularly in relation to the Eco-design of Energy-using Products Directive.

Internet: Scottish Islands

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent steps his Department has taken to provide upgrades to internet services to the Scottish Islands; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has not been directly involved in any recent activity to upgrade internet services in the Scottish Islands.
	The Scottish Government, however, announced on 26 June 2008 that it had signed a 3.3 million contract to deliver an affordable broadband service to those eligible households and businesses that registered as being out of reach of the technology. Avanti Caledonian Broadband Ltd, the selected supplier, aims to utilise a mix of technologies, including satellite and wireless, to deliver a broadband solution appropriate to the location and density of those that have made themselves known to the Scottish Government.

Iron and Steel: Prices

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the effect of recent increases in steel prices on the Government's energy policy; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 21 July 2008
	We have not made an assessment of the effect of recent increases in steel prices on the Government's energy policy. It is for energy companies to decide to what extent they take account of raw materials prices when making decisions on future investments. Strong demand for metals and the consequent rise in the price of steel is a global phenomenon and energy companies in other countries have been similarly affected.
	However we are aware that the rising cost of raw materials including steel is one of the factors leading to a significant rise in the cost of wind turbines. Despite this price rise global demand for wind turbines is growing 30 per cent. year on year. The Government remain committed to achieving our contribution to the EU 2020 target and launched a consultation last month which will culminate in the publication of our renewable energy strategy early next year.

Motor Sports: Finance

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much funding his Department has provided for motor sports technological development in each year since 2003.

Malcolm Wicks: Since 2003, BERR has allocated a total of 4 million towards motorsport development as part of its commitment to the work of Motorsport Development UK (MDUK). In addition, the motorsport industry has received 1.4 million from UK Trade and Investment Sectors Group. Expenditure is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  000 
			   MDUK funding  UKTI Sector Group funding  Total spend in financial year 
			 2003-04 0 0 0 
			 2004-05 573 339 912 
			 2005-06 1,122 395 1,517 
			 2006-07 1,277 358 1,635 
			 2007-08 982 322 1,304 
			 Total 3,954 1,414 5,368

Motor Sports: Fuels

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent progress has been made on the Energy Efficient Motor Sport initiative, with particular reference to the development of a fuel-efficient sports car; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Energy Efficient Motor Sport (EEMS) is an initiative of Motorsport Development UK, a partnership between BERR and four regional development agencies set up to sustain and grow the UK's world-leading motorsport sector. EEMS has received 1.8 million Government funding.
	EEMS is actively involved in a new championship specifically designed to bring efficient sports cars into motorsport. It is working in partnership with enviroSportscar to develop the regulations for the new series that will see high-performance, fuel-efficient sports cars competing in a series of circuit, drag and endurance racing challenges. The new championship was officially launched on 21 July 2008 at the London Motor show. In addition, EEMS is working with one of the highest profile sports car championships in the UKthe British Touring Car Championship (BTCC)to introduce regulation that will stimulate the more efficient use of fuels.

National Union of Mineworkers

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what meetings  (a) he and  (b) his Ministers have held with representatives of the National Union of Mineworkers in the last six months; what the date was of each such meeting; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: No bilateral meetings have taken place between Ministers from the Department and the NUM within the last six months. However, I attended a meeting at the TUC on 19 June 2008 and a representative of the NUM was present.
	The NUM were also represented at the Coal Health Monitoring Group meeting on 25 June 2008 which I chaired. Also the NUM, BACM and TUC were represented at the Coal Forum which I attended on the 17 July 2008.

Power Stations: Wales

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what correspondence his Department has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on a freedom of information request to the Welsh Assembly Government on communications between his Department and the Welsh Assembly Government over the responsibility for granting permission for the construction of power stations over 50 MW in Wales.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has corresponded with the Welsh Assembly Government on this Freedom of Information Request request. The Welsh Assembly Government sought the views of BERR on records that fell within the scope of the request. BERR advised that as the information related to the Planning Bill which was currently before Parliament, information on interdepartmental policy discussions should be withheld.

River Severn: Tidal Power

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the likely effect on the Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study of English Heritage's identification of Weston-Super-Mare as a conservation area.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 10 September 2008
	The Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study, which was launched in January 2007, is currently at its scoping phase. The Historic Environment, which includes assessment of impacts on conservation areas, has been identified as a key topic for investigation under the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) being carried out as part of the overall feasibility study. We will be consulting on the scope of the SEA around the turn of the year.
	English Heritage is represented on the SEA Steering Group, which includes members from a wide range of stakeholders.

Telephone Systems

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of telephone lines delivered through a digital access carrier system in each region of the UK.

Malcolm Wicks: Digital access carrier system equipment is used in a limited number of areas across the country as an acceptable method of delivering two independent telephone services over a single line in areas where there is a shortage of line capacity.
	BERR has been informed by BT that there are currently around 400,000 DACS (digital access carrier system) lines in the UK and the vast majority of DACS systems are operated by BT. Following further investment in new network capacity by BT, there has been a reduction of around 20 per cent. in the number of DACS lines on BT's network in the last 12 months. This number is expected to continue to fall in the coming years as BT continues to invest to deliver broadband service. BT does not analyse DACS populations by region.

Zonal Transmission Losses

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what recent discussions his Department has had with Ofgem on the effects of zonal transmission losses on environmentally beneficial projects; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions his Department has had with Ofgem on zonal transmission losses (P200); and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has had no recent discussions with Ofgem, the independent regulator, on its proposals for zonal transmission losses (proposed modification P200).

TRANSPORT

Airports: Manpower

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people cleared to work airside at UK airports are  (a) UK citizens born in the UK,  (b) UK citizens born abroad and  (c) foreign nationals.

Jim Fitzpatrick: A survey of 29 airports to identify the number of UK and foreign nationals cleared to work in airside areas indicated that from a total of around 190,000 airside workers 78 per cent. were UK nationals and 14 per cent. were foreign nationals (including 8 per cent. from the EU). The nationality of the remainder was not recorded.

Aviation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what steps her Department takes to promote compliance with the provisions of the Civil Aviation (Denied Boarding, Compensation and Assistance) Regulations 2005 and European regulations in respect of payment of compensation for  (a) cancelled and  (b) delayed flights;
	(2)  what steps her Department has taken following non-compliance on the part of airline operators with Council Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 on duties to deliver compensation and assistance in respect of cancelled and delayed flights since the Regulation came into force.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 10 September 2008
	 The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has been designated as the enforcement body under EC Regulation 261/2004 and the Air Transport Users Council (AUC) is the designated complaints handling body.
	The CAA takes a proactive approach to the promotion of air carrier compliance by ensuring that all airlines that operate from the UK are aware of their obligations under this legislation. This is supported by active monitoring of the experiences of air passengers; including unannounced airport spot checks at airports. If an actual or potential breach of the regulation is identified, the CAA will offer guidance to the carrier concerned and if appropriate, undertake enforcement action.
	The AUC manages individual passenger complaints and seeks to secure a satisfactory resolution in cases where the regulation is not being appropriately applied. If the AUC identifies a trend of apparent non-compliance, then it may refer the matter to the CAA for enforcement action.
	Upon referral the CAA will undertake a comprehensive investigation and, where there is evidence that the regulation has been breached, initiate enforcement action. The CAA seeks to enforce the regulation in a proportionate and balanced manner. The nature of the action taken will depend on individual circumstances, but will seek to prevent a recurrence of the breach and that an individual passenger's rights under the legislation are upheld. In parallel passengers also have the right to take their case to the Small Claims Court, which has proven to be an effective method of enabling passengers to obtain redress.

Aviation: Cancellation Rights

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what procedures are in place to ensure that airlines operating out of each airport within the UK comply with European rules on compensation for the cancellation of flights.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 15 September 2008
	 The, arrangements in the UK for promoting compliance with and enforcing regulation EC 261/2004 on compensation and assistance to air passengers in the event of denied boarding, cancellation or long delays are set out in the answer to the hon. Member's questions today (UIN 223134 and 223135).

Birmingham New Street Station

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her most recent estimate is of growth per annum in footfall at Birmingham New Street Station.

Tom Harris: Birmingham New Street handles 1,350 trains and over 120,000 passengers daily; twice what it was originally designed for. Passenger growth of 30 per cent. has been experienced over the past 10 years, with similar levels forecast over the same period in future.
	Longer trains and important improvements to the station's passenger handling capacity are set to deal with this growth.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she plans to answer the letter of 4 August 2008 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Ms J. Reed.

Jim Fitzpatrick: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport replied on 11 September.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many late licence penalty notices were issued by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many late licence penalty notices were paid  (a) within 28 days and  (b) after 28 days in each year since 1997;
	(3)  how many convictions the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has obtained for failing to pay a late licence penalty notice in each year since 1997;
	(4)  many late licence penalty notices were appealed against in each year since 1997; and how many appeals were successful.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Agency began issuing late licensing penalty letter (LLP) with the introduction of Continuous Registration (CR) in 2004. The volumes of LLPs issued each financial year since the commencement of CR are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 1,183,544 
			 2005-06 1,341,598 
			 2006-07 1,272,384 
			 2007-08 1,219,462 
		
	
	Over this period the volumes of penalty notices paid within 28 days are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 253,712 
			 2005-06 326,036 
			 2006-07 308,897 
			 2007-08 352,615 
		
	
	The volumes of penalty notices paid after 28 days are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 61,699 
			 2005-06 92,626 
			 2006-07 84,027 
			 2007-08 107,714 
		
	
	The number of county court judgements (CCJ's) issued since CR are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 74,872 
			 2005-06 114,713 
			 2006-07 84,545 
			 2007-08 5,626 
		
	
	Many offenders do not pay first time on receipt of the LLP or the reminder letter. Initially, the Agency used the Civil Court procedure to deal with non payment but this process gave poor results and costs were high.
	The Agency had to have an effective and efficient mechanism for pursuing the offenders who did not pay their LLP's. Therefore, in June 2006 to August 2007, the Agency carried out a trial using debt collection agents to pursue the payment. The use of debt collectors was found to be far more efficient and effective and in February 2008, the Agency commenced external debt collection activity by passing CR cases for the period of June 2007 to its three appointed debt collection agencies.
	The Agency does not hold statistics to readily identify the number of appeals received in cases for which an LLP has been issued. These details could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the number of cases closed due to dispute and/or mitigating circumstances is:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 313,819 
			 2005-06 397,543 
			 2006-07 209,286 
			 2007-08 134,746 
		
	
	These figures do not include other areas of closure e.g. the Agency was unable to trace the registered keeper.
	During the above periods, in addition to CR, the Agency carried out other pro-active enforcement activities to tackle evaders. These included on road enforcement, wheelclamping and the use of Automated Number Plate Reader Systems (ANPR). The Agency also worked closely with other enforcement bodies such as the Police and VOSA.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 23 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1355W, on motor vehicles: testing, what consultations were conducted on options for the future conduct of the MOT scheme; what the findings of such consultations were; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: There has been no formal public consultation on changes to the MOT scheme. Officials have had informal discussions on various occasions with representatives from a number of sectors including vehicle manufacturers, testers and insurers.
	Discussions with colleagues in other Government Departments have continued while we evaluate the very detailed evidence that has been gathered and we expect to make an announcement on this subject shortly.

Public Transport: Fees and Charges

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate she has made of the impact of trends in fuel costs on the cost of providing  (a) bus and  (b) rail transport.

Tom Harris: No estimate of the impact of trends in fuel costs on the cost of providing rail transport has been made by the Department for Transport. The impact on public finances is uncertain as a change in fuel cost increases both the cost of operating the railway and rail patronage through modal shift. The increase in rail patronage leads to higher rail revenue, which is partially captured by the Department through lower subsidies.
	The Department has not made direct estimates of the impact of fuel price trends on the cost of bus service provision. The impact on bus industry costs will depend on the rise in fuel costs and the extent to which the industry has fixed its fuel prices in advance. We have limited data on what proportion of fuel prices have been fixed in advance. However, on average around 9 per cent. of the bus operators' costs are fuel costs, so a 10 per cent. rise in fuel costs will only increase total costs by 1 per cent. The rises in labour costs are likely to have had a more significant impact on bus industry costs in recent years.

Railways

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 21 July 2008,  Official Report, column 889, on railways, and with reference to the answers of 21 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1865W, on train usage, and 29 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1694W, on railways, whether equivalent data were gathered for  (a) 2006 and  (b) 2007; and for what reasons such data are not being gathered in respect of 2008.

Tom Harris: The Department for Transport has never collected such information about the rolling stock fleet in the format requested in order to conduct departmental business. On request, the Department has collated and presented such information about rolling stock in the past. However, this exercise has been judged to be a poor use of departmental resources given that this information is freely available from other sources. This exercise was last carried out in reply to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell's (Chris Grayling) written question, answered on 29 March 2007,  Official Report , column 1694W.

Railways

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 21 July 2008,  Official Report, column 891W, on railways: standards and with reference to the answers of 20 December 2005,  Official Report, column 2914W, on C2C Line: Rail One, and 1 February 2006,  Official Report , column 562W on train operating companies, whether equivalent data relating to  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006 were gathered; and what the figures were in the most recent year in which the data were gathered.

Tom Harris: The most recent financial year for which the Department holds complete data is 2007-08. For this data I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 21 July 2008,  Official Report, column 891W.
	The information requested was gathered in relation to financial years 2005-06 and 2006-07. This information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Train operating company  Number of cancellations 
			   2005-06  2006-07 
			 ATW 2,837 2,214 
			 c2c 1,343 1,152 
			 Chiltern 1,366 938 
			 Crosscountry(1) 1,435 1,382 
			 East Midlands(1) 1,952 1,970 
			 First Capital Connect 5,565 5,166 
			 First Great Western 4,609 7,045 
			 First Scotrail 7,546 8,532 
			 Gatwick Express 579 535 
			 London Midland(1) 6,203 6,198 
			 London Overground(1) 2,753 2,301 
			 Merseyrail 3,038 2,077 
			 Northern 6,116 7,626 
			 NXEA 7,261 9,207 
			 NXEC 546 805 
			 Southeastern 6,341 5,227 
			 Southern 6,892 5,954 
			 South Western 5,663 6,034 
			 TransPennineExpress 856 981 
			 Virgin West Coast 688 878 
			 Network Total 73,589 76,222 
			 (1 )These train operating companies were established in their present form in 2007. Numbers shown relate to the services currently operated by these companies.

Railways: Energy

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average energy cost of operating a train along one mile of  (a) electrified and  (b) diesel rail is at September 2008 fuel prices.

Tom Harris: Information on traction electricity prices for rail is published by Network Rail as part of the Appendices to Network Rail's April 2008 Strategic Business Plan. The document is on the internet at the following address:
	http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/StrategicBusinessPlan/Update/Structure%20of%20 Charges%20Appendices.pdf.
	No comparable information is available on the prices paid by train operators for diesel fuel.

Railways: Exhaust Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many kilograms of carbon dioxide are emitted on average from operating a train along one mile of  (a) electrified and  (b) diesel, rail.

Tom Harris: The amount of CO2 emitted by diesel and electric trains varies according to the type of train and its operating conditions. Figure 18 from Professor Roger Kemp's recent report on rail traction energy compares the carbon performance of a range of domestic diesel and electric train types. Professor Kemp's report can be found on the internet at the following address:
	http://www.rssb.co.uk/pdf/reports/research/T618_traction-energy-metrics_final.pdf

Railways: Overcrowding

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to page 35 of the National Rail Trends Yearbook, what measure his Department will use to monitor overcrowding across train operating companies; how many train operating companies will be so monitored; and when the results of such monitoring will be collated.

Tom Harris: The July 2007 White Paper, Delivering a Sustainable Railway, sets out a capacity metric in a High Level Output Specification (HLOS). The Department for Transport is currently developing a process by which it will report levels of crowding and delivery of the HLOS capacity metric.
	The White Paper is available in the House Library or from the Department for Transport website:
	www.dft.gov.uk.

Railways: Signals

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times railway signals were passed at danger in each month of each year between 1997 and 2008.

Tom Harris: The number of times signals were passed at danger on Britain's mainline railway in each month of each year between 1997 and 2008 is shown in the following table. The information is taken from the SPAD reports published on the Office of Rail Regulation's website and copies of which are available from the House Library.
	
		
			  The number of signals passed at danger (SPADs) each month from January 1997June 2008 
			   January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December 
			 1997 41 51 62 66 42 52 55 73 47 68 85 36 
			 1998 49 45 45 51 64 45 63 58 64 80 77 36 
			 1999 59 45 54 46 55 68 66 53 55 73 56 22 
			 2000 36 38 52 31 35 47 31 44 46 53 52 29 
			 2001 33 42 43 37 56 33 50 48 30 40 44 32 
			 2002 21 28 23 21 35 41 37 40 24 60 39 27 
			 2003 37 23 29 21 33 29 38 34 29 47 46 36 
			 2004 25 21 26 39 31 25 44 32 37 38 30 18 
			 2005 27 23 34 21 17 40 28 27 31 41 31 25 
			 2006 21 24 29 25 23 30 42 24 28 41 36 32 
			 2007 27 13 19 21 30 28 31 23 29 41 39 24 
			 2008 21 34 38 26 23 30

Roads: Tolls

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bids for road pricing demonstration projects she has received; and how many of the eight demonstration schemes will utilise satellite technology.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 10 September 2008
	On 15 September 2008 the Government confirmed the names of the companies that will run the demonstrations project on road pricing technology. Eight bids were received in response to the invitation to tender for the Road User Service Providers Framework, of which four were successful. They were T-Systems Ltd, Trafficmaster Plc, Sanef Tolling Limited and Intelligent Mechatronic Systems (UK): Satellite technology is a feature of each of these.
	As we announced in 2007 and then updated Parliament on in July this year, these trials will explore how time-distance-place charging can work accurately, reliably and affordably while safeguarding privacy. Designing an effective mechanism to achieve these aims presents a significant challenge. We believe that this project will help local authorities in the longer-term development of their plans for combining a local congestion charging scheme with major investment in public transport.

Tolls: Manchester

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether it is her policy that Greater Manchester local authorities should begin to repay the 1.2 billion of loans proposed under the Transport Innovation Fund Scheme in 2013, whether or not a congestion charge has been implemented in Manchester by that date;
	(2)  if she will make it her policy to indemnify Greater Manchester local authorities for the cost of repayments of proposed loans under the Transport Innovation Fund in the event that any congestion charge revenues are insufficient to meet the liability;
	(3)  for which public transport schemes the Association of Greater Manchester authorities has undertaken to implement at least 80 per cent. of the scheme prior to the introduction of congestion charging; and what the estimated cost of each scheme is.

Tom Harris: The Government awarded Programme Entry to the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities' Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) proposals in June 2008. The 2.8 billion package that AGMA developed combined investment in public transport and a congestion charging scheme. It was produced on the basis that 80 per cent. of the public transport would be delivered by the time that the charging scheme went live in 2013. In considering whether to award Programme Entry to the Package, and commit in principle up to 1.5 billion of TIF grant, we made a thorough assessment of the financial plans that supported the package and the risks associated with its delivery. We concluded that although there was more work to do to further develop the Package, it could be awarded programme entry at this stage. Repayment of prudential borrowing associated with the Package is incorporated into Greater Manchester's financial plans and, as with any prudential borrowing, this will be a matter for the authorities that undertake the borrowing.
	The grant of Programme Entry does not denote any final commitment to provide funding for the AGMA proposals. The terms of the Programme Entry decision, including financial arrangements, are set out on DfT's website.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the number of civilian casualties resulting from the use of air power in Afghanistan; what discussions he has had on this issue with his counterparts in nations contributing to the International Security Assistance Force and Operation Enduring Freedom; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: holding answer 15 September 2008
	 The UK Government do not collate figures for civilian casualties in Afghanistan. We are in regular contact, at all levels, with our International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) partners to continue to ensure that our procedures to minimise the risk to civilians from the employment of Close Air Support are as effective as possible. Every effort is made by ISAF forces, including those of the UK, to avoid civilian casualties, which are always a source of profound regret.

Armed Forces: Training

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether his Department includes military training in its definition of military co-operation in the context of the Madrid Declaration of 1989;
	(2)  on what date he was first informed of proposals for members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army to attend Sandhurst;
	(3)  what recent discussions he has had with representatives of  (a) the UK's Permanent Representation to the European Union and  (b) the European Commission on military co-operation with China and the Madrid Declaration 1989;
	(4)  when his Department first arranged for students from the People's Liberation Army of China to attend Sandhurst.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 15 September 2008
	The MOD's bilateral programme with the Chinese People's Liberation Army is entirely consistent with the Government's policy of seeking to influence, through positive engagement, China's emergence as a responsible global player and with key allies' policies. Any military training offered is limited in scale and content so that it will not affect the regional strategic balance or enhance the People's Liberation Army's capability for internal repression. We keep the use the People's Liberation Army makes of MOD-provided training under review and these limited engagements will stop if there is firm evidence that any skills or knowledge we provide have been misused.
	The planning for a Chinese officer cadet to attend Sandhurst began in 2006 as part of the MOD's overall defence relations and security co-operation programme. China was offered the opportunity to send a cadet to Sandhurst on 13 April 2007 and the officer attended Sandhurst between 9 September 2007 and 8 August 2008. Because the cadet's attendance at Sandhurst was consistent with the pan-Whitehall China strategy, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State was not made aware of this individual serial in a much wider programme, which was endorsed by officials. However, we have never sought to conceal such engagements. Indeed, I refer to the answers I gave to the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague) on 29 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 2016-20W, and the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) on 6 May 2008,  Official Report, column 840W, which listed foreign students who have attended the Academy since 1997, including the one from China.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence has not had any recent discussions with representatives of the United Kingdom's Permanent Representation to the European Union or the European Commission about military co-operation with China and the Madrid Declaration 1989.

Military Aircraft

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Boeing-built, designed or supported  (a) airborne platforms,  (b) aircraft,  (c) helicopters and  (d) other air systems are (i) in use, (ii) in the process of acquisition or appraisal and (iii) under consideration for use in the three services.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 10 September 2008
	The following table lists the major air assets which Boeing have either built, designed or currently support.
	
		
			  Asset  In use  Acquisition/Appraisal  Under consideration 
			  Airborne Platforms
			 
			  Aircraft
			 Sentry 7   
			 C-17 6   
			 Boeing RC-135(1)   3 
			  Helicopters
			 Apache 67   
			 Chinook Mk2/2A 40   
			 Chinook Mk3(2)  8  
			 
			  Other Air Systems (3) (3) (3) 
			 (1) Under consideration for the assessment phase of Project HELIX (replacement for Nimrod R1 capability.) (2) These helicopters are being converted to a support helicopter configuration and will enter service from late 2009. (3) I am withholding the information as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

Military Aircraft

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many United States-built, designed or supported  (a) airborne platforms,  (b) aircraft,  (c) helicopters and  (d) other air systems are (i) in use and (ii) under contract for future delivery in the three services.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 10 September 2008
	The following table lists the major air assets which United States companies have either built, designed or currently support.
	
		
			  Asset  In use  Future delivery 
			  Airborne platforms   
			 Reaper(1) 2 3 
			 Desert Hawk III(1) 104 27 
			
			  Aircraft   
			 Hercules C-130K/J 41  
			 Sentry 7  
			 C-17 6  
			 TriStar 9  
			 BAE 125 6  
			 Beech King Air 200 9  
			 Joint Combat Aircraft(2) (2) (2) 
			 Sentinel 4 1 
			 Beech King Air 350 ER  4 
			
			  Helicopters   
			 Apache 67  
			 Chinook Mk2/2A 40  
			 Chinook Mk3(3)  8 
			 Sea King(4) 95  
			 Bell 212 7  
			 Bell 412 15  
			
			  Other air systems   
			 AMRAAM (5)  
			 Maverick (5)  
			 Sidewinder (5)  
			 Hellfire (5)  
			 Paveway II/III (5)  
			 (1) Unmanned aerial vehicle. (2) For joint combat aircraft, the MOD has contracted for long lead production materiel as an enabler for its plans to purchase, subject to internal MOD and wider Government approval, three aircraft in early 2009. This purchase is required now to enable participation in joint Operational Test with the United States. (3) These helicopters are being converted to a support helicopter configuration and will enter service from late 2009. (4) These were built in the UK by what is now Agusta Westland under licence from Sikorsky. (5) I am withholding information on the number of weapons held as the disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.  Note: Further air assets are not included in the table. I am withholding this information as the disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Military Police: Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  when the Royal Military Police first  (a) reported to his Department concerns that Land Rovers were deficient vehicles for operational duty and  (b) requested replacement armoured vehicles;
	(2)  when the Royal Military Police first submitted an urgent operational requirement for armoured replacements for Land Rovers.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 10 September 2008
	Records indicate that the possibility of Royal Military Police units being equipped with better protected vehicles, when required to deploy in advanced positions in operational theatres, was raised in both 1999 and 2003. We have no record of any earlier suggestions of this kind.
	A large number of improvements have been introduced to the vehicle fleet in recent years, with the result that commanders now have a greater choice of better protected, more capable vehicles than at any time previously. Royal Military Police personnel have benefited from these improvements as have personnel from all arms and services. There are no current issues relating to better protected vehicles specifically for the Royal Military Police and we do not have any record of the Royal Military Police submitting an urgent operational requirement for armoured replacements for Land Rovers.

P5 Technical Laboratories

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the agenda is for the meeting of the P5 technical laboratories to be hosted by the UK; when the meeting will take place; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: In offering to host a P5 conference between the laboratories of the Nuclear Weapon States, I proposed that it should take place within the current Nuclear non-proliferation treaty review cycle ending in 2010. The UK preference would be to hold the conference in the second half of 2009. Nevertheless, it is important to emphasise that this will be a P5 conference hosted by the UK rather than a UK conference to which our P5 partners are simply invited. My officials are continuing to engage with our P5 partners to ensure the agenda for the conference meets each nation's requirements in terms of timing and content. I will keep the House informed of progress.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary: Tankers

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many single-skin tankers there are in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary; what plans there are to replace them; and what the cost to his Department of environmental liability insurance for such tankers was in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 10 September 2008
	There are currently four single-hulled dedicated tankers in-service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) with a further two general replenishment ships that have a tanking capability.
	As part of the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) programme, MOD is in the process of procuring up to six new double-hulled Fleet Tankers. The new Fleet Tankers will replace the dedicated tankers and, along with the two existing Wave class ships, will meet the Royal Navy's future tanking requirements, removing the need to utilise the two general replenishment ships for tanking purposes. We are working alongside four bidders in the next stage of the planned procurement process for the Fleet Tankers; the main investment decision is expected to be made during 2009.
	In common with general Government policy, the MOD does not purchase insurance to cover claims arising from environmental accidents: rather, the Department bears the risk of any such claims. These arrangements apply to any incidents, including those that might arise through the use of single-hulled tankers.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum: Zimbabwe

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Zimbabwean nationals  (a) sought asylum in the UK,  (b) were granted refugee status,  (c) were allowed to remain in the UK and  (d) were removed to Zimbabwe in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 2 July 2008
	 The following tables show Zimbabwean principal asylum applications, initial decisions and removals, 2003-07, where available. Initial decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period. Removals do not necessarily relate to refused applications decided in the same period. Destination data for persons removed from the UK have only been collated since 2004, so this information is not available for earlier years. Removal figures only relate to those removed to Zimbabwe and not to other destinations.
	Information on asylum is published annually and quarterly. Copies of asylum publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	
		
			  Asylum applications( 1)  received in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, and initial decisions( 2)  on applications, 2003 to 2007, nationals of Zimbabwe 
			  Principal applicants 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006( 3)  2007( 3) 
			  Applications  
			 Total 3,295 2,065 1,075 1,650 1,755 
			 Port 715 395 165 165 265 
			 In country 2,580 1,665 910 1,480 1,490 
			   
			  Decisions  
			 Total decisions 4,190 2,560 1,040 1,680 1,425 
			 Grants of asylum 875 220 80 140 250 
			 Grants of ELR(4) 10 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Grants of HP(4) 5 * * * * 
			 Grants of DL(4) 20 25 15 30 20 
			 Total refusals 3,285 2,310 945 1,510 1,155 
			 Certified refusals 45 * 5 5 10 
			 Other refusals 2,810 2,130 870 1,430 1,125 
			 Third country refusals(5) 10 10 5  * 
			 Non-compliance refusals(6) 420 165 70 70 20 
			 n/a = Not applicable. (1) Figures rounded to nearest 5, ('' = 0, * = 1 or 2). (2) Information is of initial decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions. (3) Provisional figures. (4) Humanitarian protection and discretionary leave replaced exceptional leave to remain from 1 April 2003. (5) Refused on the grounds that the applicant had arrived from a safe third country. (6) Paragraph 340 of Immigration Rules. For failure to provide evidence to support the asylum claim within a reasonable period, including failure to respond to invitation to interview.  Source: Immigration Research and Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Removals, voluntary departures and assisted returns( 1,2)  of Zimbabwean asylum applicants, excluding dependants removed to Zimbabwe, 2004-07( 3) 
			  Zimbabwean asylum applicants removed to Zimbabwe  Number of removals 
			 2004 100 
			 2005 245 
			 2006(4) 215 
			 2007(4) 165 
			 (1) Includes persons refused entry at port and subsequently removed (including cases dealt with at juxtaposed controls), persons departing voluntarily after enforcement action had been initiated against them and persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organization for Migration. (2) Removals since 2005 include those who it is established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (3) Persons who had sought asylum at some stage. (4) Provisional figures  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest five.

Corporate Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions she has accepted corporate hospitality in the last 12 months.

Liam Byrne: Chapter 7 of the Ministerial Code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality.

Departmental Buildings

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on  (a) new capital investment and  (b) refurbishment of property in each of the last 10 years, broken down by project.

Liam Byrne: The Department's accounts system does not hold the information at the requested level of detail. An answer could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Conferences

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will list the conferences hosted by her Department in each of the last two years; and what the cost was of each conference.

Liam Byrne: The amount spent on conference activity in 2006-07 was 9,325,652. The main conferences were Tackling DrugsChanging Lives; New Asylum Model; eBorders Industry events; Schools Pack and Drugs, Alcohol and Social Work.
	The amount spent on conference activity in 2007-08 was 4,020,987. The main conferences were Victim Supportthe changing landscape of crime; Tackling Drugs: Changing Lives; National Identity Scheme Bidder; Young People Consultation and European Refugee Fund external stakeholder event.
	Information on the cost of each conference could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, as the data are not recorded separately on the Department's accounting systems.

Departmental Data Protection

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether personal data held by her Department are always encrypted prior to being transferred to compact discs for transmission.

Liam Byrne: In line with current Cabinet Office guidance, the Home Office does not always encrypt personal data before transferring it by disc. Since 22 November 2007, the Home Office has been undertaking a review of its technical, process and procedural arrangements to ensure that the risk of data being compromised is managed and reduced to a minimum.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1179:
	...I have asked the Cabinet Secretary and security experts to ensure that all Departments and all agencies check their procedures for the storage and use of data...
	An interim progress report on the review was published by the Cabinet Office through a written ministerial statement on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 98WS. This included a recommendation to enhance the transparency with Parliament, and the public about the action taken to safeguard information and the results of that action, through publication of results Departmental annual reports and an annual report to Parliament.

Departmental ICT

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) mobile telephones,  (b) personal digital assistants and  (c) laptop computers issued to departmental staff were reported (i) lost, (ii) missing and (iii) stolen since 2001.

Liam Byrne: We only have accurate information for the last three years.
	In 2005 26 mobiles were recorded as lost, seven as stolen and four as missing. No personal digital assistants (PDAs) were recorded as lost, stolen or missing, three laptops were reported as lost and 11 laptops were reported as stolen.
	In 2006 seven mobiles were recorded as lost and three as missing. Five PDAs were reported as lost and two were reported as stolen. Additionally, three laptops were reported as lost, one as missing and 10 as stolen.
	In 2007 43 mobile telephones were reported as lost and four were reported as stolen. Nine PDAs were reported as lost and three stolen. Additionally, three laptops were reported as lost and 12 reported as stolen.

Departmental ICT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what IT contracts her Department and its agencies have entered into in the last two years.

Liam Byrne: The Home Department and its agencies have awarded the following information technology (IT) contracts in the last two years.
	
		
			  Department/Agency  Contractor's name  Description of contract 
			 Home Department Sawis Hosting of applications on the GSI for access by various desktop networks 
			 UKBA Trusted Borders Consortium Delivery of a modernised border control 
			 UKBA Finsoft Financial Systems Provision of a collaborative Business Portal for 3 party accommodation providers software system and support. 
			 IPS Datacard Public Card Reader 
			 IPS Kallidus Learning Tool 
			 IPS nCipher Develop Cardlink and Primelink EAC 672W 
			 IPS Saba Solutions Virtual Classroom SW

Departmental Manpower

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the change in the number of employees in her Department and its agencies has been since July 2006.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office annual reports provide the staff numbers for each of the last two years.
	2007-08 Annual Report, information is available on page 102, table reference 5.6
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/ho-annual-report-08?view=Binary.
	2006-07 Annual Report, information is available on page 112, table reference 5.6
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/ho-annual-report-07?view=Binary.
	In 2006-07 the Home Office HQ included the following departments: Communities Group, National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR). NOMS and OCJR left in May 2007 to join the new Ministry of Justice, and Communities Group transferred to Department for Communities and Local Government in May 2006.

Departmental Marketing

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department and its agencies spent on branding and marketing activity in 2007-08.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office and its agencies (the UK Border Agency, the Identity and Passport Service and the Criminal Records Bureau) spent a total of 10,208,700 on branding and marketing activity in 2007-08.

Departmental Overtime

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of overtime payment paid to staff in her Department was in each of the last 12 months, broken down by pay grade.

Liam Byrne: Home Office policy is that overtime working is kept to a minimum and used only in periods of exceptional work pressure. However, because of the nature of immigration work, immigration staff in the UK Border Agency are routinely required to work shifts which attract overtime payments, including premium payments for all weekend working (whether or not it is overtime).
	As immigration staff represent a significant proportion of total staff, over 75 per cent. of overtime cost is attributable to immigration staff duties, most of which will be due to the need to undertake routine shift work. Immigration staff are also required to stay beyond their usual shift working time to complete passenger casework and minimise disruption to the majority of the travelling public.
	Table 1, placed in the House Library, summarises all gross overtime payments made to employees in the core Home Office, UK Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service and Criminal Records Bureau, for each of the last 12 months. The data are broken down by grade and also record, separately, immigration staff. It has not proved possible to include employer pension and employer national insurance costs without incurring disproportionate costs.

Departmental Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by special advisers in her Department in each of the last 10 years.

Liam Byrne: Information on how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by special advisers from 1998 to 2001 is not held centrally. Information from 2002 to 2008 is as follows:
	
		
			
			 2002-03 323 
			 2003-04 226 
			 2004-05 1,817.94 
			 2005-06 514.29 
			 2006-07 538.61 
			 2007-08 1,150.77 
		
	
	Procedures for reimbursing staff expenses are set out in the staff handbook and are in line with the provisions set out in the Civil Service Management Code. The code can be viewed at:
	www.civilservice.gov.uk/iam/codes/csmc/index.asp.

Departmental Postal Services

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department has taken to monitor the cost of its mail services in the last 12 months.

Liam Byrne: For the last 12 month, the cost of mail services has been monitored at regular intervals to ensure that mail budgets are not exceeded and value for money is secured. The Department has liaised with the existing, as well as alternative, mail service providers in order to review efficiency and ensure best value.

Entry Clearances

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which 80 immigration routes the Government are replacing; and how many entry clearances were granted under each route in the latest year for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 20 June 2008
	Those routes scheduled to be replaced under the Government's points system include:
	Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme
	Highly Skilled Migrant programme
	Innovators
	International Graduates scheme
	Investors
	Persons intending to establish themselves in business
	Self-employed lawyers
	Writers, composers and artists
	Airport-based operational ground staff
	Intra-company transfer
	Jewish agency employees
	Ministers of Religion, Missionaries and Members of Religious Orders
	Named researchers
	Overseas qualified nurse or midwife
	Overseas representatives (news media)
	Sabbatical posts
	Seafarers
	Training and work experience scheme (also tier 5)
	Work permit employment (also tier 5)
	Association of American Study Abroad programme
	Bar students
	Exchange students
	Music students
	Pestalozzi Childrens' Trust
	Pupillage
	Resit of Examinations
	Riding schools
	Sandwich students
	St. George's University School of Medicine
	Student nurses
	Students
	Welbeck college (Army recruits)
	Writing up a thesis
	Au Pair (non EEA)
	British Universities North America Club
	China Graduate Work Experience programme
	EU Leonardo da Vinci programme
	Exchange teachers and language assistants
	Gap year entrants
	General Agreement on Trade and Services
	International Association for the Exchange of students of Technical Expertise
	International Fire Fighter Fellowship programme
	Japan Youth Exchange scheme
	Medical Training Initiative
	Non-pastoral religious workers
	Overseas domestic workers in diplomatic households
	Overseas Government employees
	Research assistants to Members of Parliament
	Rudolf Steiner
	Sponsored researchers
	Training and Work Experience scheme (also Tier 2)
	Vander Elst
	Visiting religious workers
	Voluntary workers
	Work permit employment (also Tier 2)
	Working Holidaymaker scheme
	Overseas domestic workers in private households
	Retired persons of independent means
	Sole representatives
	Aircrew
	Civilian personnel in foreign armed forces
	Nurses in supervised practice
	Postgraduate doctors and dentists
	Turkish European Community Association Agreement
	UK Ancestry
	Offshore workers
	Employees of firms under contract to NATO
	Seasonal agricultural workers
	Sector Based schemes
	Entertainers' Concession (incl PFFs)
	Sportspersons' Concession
	Clinical attachment or dental observer
	Film Crew on Location
	PLAB Test
	Prospective students
	It is not possible to separately identify the entry clearance for each of these routes without incurring disproportionate cost, as many are currently covered by a single entry clearance process.

Entry Clearances: Working Holidays

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many entry clearances were granted under the working holidaymakers scheme in each of the last five years; and how many were granted to applicants from each of the top 10 source countries in those years.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 20 June 2008
	The total number of entry clearances issued globally under the Working Holidaymaker (WHM) Scheme in each of the last four financial years (2004-08) is shown in the table. The number of such entry clearances issued in the top 10 WHM source countries in each of these years is also shown.
	In FY 2003-04, a total of 59,822 WHM visas were issued globally. However, we are unable to provide accurate figures for the numbers issued in individual countries in this or previous financial years.
	The data shown in the following tables are unpublished and should therefore be treated as provisional.
	
		
			  Working holidaymaker visas issued: FY 2004FY 2008 
			   Country  FY 2004-05 issued 
			 1 Australia 23,257 
			 2 South Africa 21,781 
			 3 Canada 5,258 
			 4 New Zealand 4,833 
			 5 Ghana 3,224 
			 6 India 2,033 
			 7 Malaysia 1,470 
			 8 Namibia 1,101 
			 9 United States 674 
			 10 Sri Lanka 639 
			  Total (top 10) 64,270 
			
			  Total (all countries) 69,132 
		
	
	
		
			   Country  FY 2005-06 issued 
			 1 Australia 19,197 
			 2 South Africa 16,773 
			 3 Canada 4,508 
			 4 New Zealand 4,408 
			 5 Ghana 2,231 
			 6 India 1,550 
			 7 United States 479 
			 8 Trinidad and Tobago 461 
			 9 Singapore 315 
			 10 Irish Republic 248 
			  Total (top 10) 50,170 
			
			  Total (all countries) 52,598 
		
	
	
		
			   Country  FY 2006-07 issued 
			 1 Australia 20,588 
			 2 South Africa 8,946 
			 3 New Zealand 4,664 
			 4 Canada 3,852 
			 5 India 2,302 
			 6 Ghana 1,406 
			 7 Bangladesh 548 
			 8 United States 362 
			 9 Malaysia 313 
			 10 Trinidad and Tobago 301 
			  Total (top 10) 43,282 
			
			  Total (all countries) 46,048 
		
	
	
		
			   Country  FY 2007-08 issued 
			 1 Australia 14,948 
			 2 South Africa 6,374 
			 3 New Zealand 3,306 
			 4 Canada 3,060 
			 5 India 2,686 
			 6 Malaysia 1,016 
			 7 Ghana 855 
			 8 Bangladesh 602 
			 9 Trinidad and Tobago 285 
			 10 United States 260 
			  Total (top 10) 33,392 
			
			  Total (all countries) 35,641 
			  Note: Date range 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2008.  Source: CRS (30 July 2008)

Immigration Controls

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the average number of employees per sponsor likely to be applied for under tier 2 of the points-based system.

Liam Byrne: We do not yet have projected figures for the average number of migrant employees per sponsor.
	Our analysis of historic work permit data shows that an average annual figure for migrant employees per employer is not indicative of employer/migrant activity overall. It is skewed towards a very low average, and therefore we believe it is of limited use for planning or reporting purposes.
	However, historical data relating to work permits show 81.6 per cent. of organisations over a four year period used less than five work permits each.

Immigration: Appeals

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the target processing time has been in relation to appeals to asylum and immigration tribunals in each of the last five years.

Michael Wills: I have been asked to reply.
	The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) (prior to April 2005 the Immigration Appellate Authority) has joint target processing times with the Home Office and information covering each of the last five years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Target  Performance 
			 2007-08 Joint PSA target with the Home Office: To grant or remove 90 per cent. of asylum claimants within six months by the end of 2011 46 per cent. of new applications received in June 2007 were concluded within six months by the end of December 2007 
			  Milestone: 40 per cent. of new asylum claimants by December 2007  
			
			 2007-08(1) Receipt in AIT to promulgation by Immigration Judge:  
			  Asylum75 per cent. in six weeks Asylum61 per cent. in six weeks 
			  Managed Migration (In Country Immigration)75 per cent. in eight weeks Managed Migration66 per cent. in eight weeks 
			  Entry Clearance (Out of Country Immigration)75 per cent. within 10 weeks of receipt of respondent's bundle Entry Clearance49 per cent. in 10 weeks of receipt of respondent's bundle 
			  Family Visit Visa75 per cent. within 10 weeks of receipt of respondent's bundle Family Visit Visas66 per cent. in 10 weeks of receipt of respondent's bundle 
			
			 2006-07 Joint PSA target with the Home Office: To grant or remove 90 per cent. of asylum claimants within six months by the end of 2011 38 per cent. of new applications received in September 2006 were concluded within six months 
			  Milestone: 35 per cent. of new asylum claimants by April 2007  
			
			 2005-06 Joint PSA target with the Home Office: 75 per cent. of substantive asylum applications including the final appeal decided within six months 74 per cent. of applications received in 2005-06 had a final decision up to and including appeal, within six months 
			
			 2004-05 Joint PSA target with the Home Office: 65 per cent. of substantive asylum applications including the final appeal decided within six months 67 per cent. of substantive applications in 2004-05 had a final decision up to and including appeal at the Immigration Appeal Tribunal, within six months 
			
			 2004-05 75 per cent. of asylum cases, covered by the PSA, to be decided by adjudicators within 12 weeks from receipt 77 per cent. decided within 12 weeks of receipt 
			
			 2003-04 Joint PSA target with the Home Office: 60 per cent. of substantive asylum applications including final appeal decided within six months 64 per cent. of substantive applications in 2003-04 had a final decision up to and including appeals at the Immigration Appeal Tribunal, within six months 
			 (1) Key Performance Indicators were introduced in April 2007 to measure the waiting times for all main AIT case types.

Immigration: Appeals

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average processing time has been for appeals to asylum and immigration tribunals in each of the last five years.

Michael Wills: I have been asked to reply.
	The average processing times for appeals to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (prior to April 2005 the Immigration Appellate Authority) in each of the last five years is available and the information is shown as follows.
	
		
			   Case type( 1)  Average waiting time from receipt in the IAA/AIT to promulgation by an Adjudicator/Immigration Judge( 2 ) (weeks) 
			 2007-08 Asylum 8 
			  Managed Migration (In Country Immigration) 10 
			  Entry Clearance (Out of Country Immigration) 26 
			  Family Visit Visas 20 
			
			 2006-07 Asylum 9 
			  Managed Migration (In Country Immigration) 10 
			  Entry Clearance (Out of Country Immigration) 30 
			  Family Visit Visas 30 
			
			 2005-06(3) Asylum 15 
			  Managed Migration (In Country Immigration) 10 
			  Entry Clearance (Out of Country Immigration) 17 
			  Family Visit Visas 22 
			
			 2004-05 Asylum 17 
			  Immigration 12 
			  Family Visit Visas 10 
			
			 2003-04 Asylum 17 
			  Immigration 13 
			  Family Visit Visas 8 
			 (1 )Separate information on In Country and Out of Country Immigration appeals is not available prior to April 2005. (2) Average waiting time information is taken from reports produced for internal use by the IAA and AIT from their databases. It is not subject to the same quality checks as performance targets and other published data. (3) Data for 2005-06 taken from the AIT database ARIA, and covers from commencement of AIT on 4April 2005.

Parking Offences: Fixed Penalties

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research her Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the relationship between the level of penalty imposed for parking offences and the incidence of such offences.

Tom Harris: I have been asked to reply.
	Local authorities in England with the power to enforce parking on the street and in local authority owned car parks may issue penalty charge notices to vehicles parked in contravention of the regulations. The primary purpose of a penalty charge is to encourage compliance with parking regulations and authorities are advised to adopt the lowest charge level consistent with a high level of public acceptability and compliance. Authorities must set levels that comply with the guidelines of the Mayor (in London) and the Secretary of State (outside London). A range of factors may influence the incidence of parking contraventions in particular areas. The Department for Transport has not commissioned or evaluated specific research on this particular factor.

Police: Ethnic Groups

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of  (a) police community support officers and  (b) regular police officers fall into each ethnic category in each police force area.

Tony McNulty: The available data are given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: Police community support officer ethnicity( 1)  by police force area as at 31 March 2007 
			  Percentage 
			  Police force  White  Mixed  Black or Black British  Asian or Asian British  Chinese or Other ethnic group  Not stated 
			 Avon and Somerset 96 1 1 1 1 1 
			 Bedfordshire 89 4 1 6 0 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 93 2 1 3 0 1 
			 Cheshire 100 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Cleveland 98 0 0 2 0 0 
			 Cumbria 99 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Derbyshire 96 1 1 2 0 0 
			 Devon and Cornwall 67 0 0 0 1 31 
			 Dorset 98 1 0 2 0 0 
			 Durham 99 1 0 1 0 0 
			 Essex 95 1 1 1 0 2 
			 Gloucestershire 87 2 0 2 1 8 
			 Greater Manchester 96 0 1 3 0 0 
			 Hampshire 98 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Hertfordshire 95 0 1 2 0 2 
			 Humberside 99 1 1 0 0 0 
			 Kent 96 1 0 1 1 0 
			 Lancashire 98 1 0 1 0 1 
			 Leicestershire 90 0 0 9 0 0 
			 Lincolnshire 99 0 1 0 0 0 
			 London, City of 83 8 3 6 0 0 
			 Merseyside 95 4 0 2 0 0 
			 Metropolitan Police 67 4 11 12 4 1 
			 Norfolk 97 0 1 1 1 0 
			 Northamptonshire 93 4 2 1 0 0 
			 Northumbria 98 1 0 0 0 0 
			 North Yorkshire 99 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 96 1 0 3 0 0 
			 South Yorkshire 95 0 3 1 0 0 
			 Staffordshire 96 1 0 2 0 0 
			 Suffolk 99 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Surrey 93 0 1 3 0 2 
			 Sussex 95 1 0 0 1 3 
			 Thames Valley 93 2 0 4 0 0 
			 Warwickshire 94 0 1 4 0 1 
			 West Mercia 93 1 0 1 0 5 
			 West Midlands 85 2 2 9 0 1 
			 West Yorkshire 95 0 1 4 0 0 
			 Wiltshire 98 1 1 0 0 0 
			 Dyfed-Powys 99 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Gwent 97 0 1 2 0 0 
			 North Wales 96 1 0 1 0 2 
			 South Wales 98 0 0 1 0 1 
			 (1 )Percentage figures based on full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Police officer ethnicity( 1)  by police force area as at 31 March 2007 
			  Percentage 
			  Police force  White  Mixed  Black or Black British  Asian or Asian British  Chinese or Other ethnic group  Not stated 
			 Avon and Somerset 98 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Bedfordshire 93 1 1 3 0 2 
			 Cambridgeshire 96 1 0 1 0 1 
			 Cheshire 99 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Cleveland 96 0 0 1 0 2 
			 Cumbria 99 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Derbyshire 96 1 0 2 0 0 
			 Devon and Cornwall 91 0 0 0 0 8 
			 Dorset 99 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Durham 98 1 0 1 0 0 
			 Essex 98 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Gloucestershire 98 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Greater Manchester 96 1 1 1 0 0 
			 Hampshire 90 1 0 1 1 8 
			 Hertfordshire 96 1 0 1 0 1 
			 Humberside 99 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Kent 98 1 0 1 0 0 
			 Lancashire 87 1 0 2 0 11 
			 Leicestershire 93 1 1 3 0 2 
			 Lincolnshire 99 0 0 0 0 0 
			 London, City of 95 1 2 2 0 0 
			 Merseyside 97 1 0 0 1 0 
			 Metropolitan Police 92 1 2 3 1 0 
			 Norfolk 98 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Northamptonshire 87 1 1 1 0 9 
			 Northumbria 98 1 0 0 0 0 
			 North Yorkshire 99 1 0 1 0 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 96 1 1 1 0 0 
			 South Yorkshire 97 0 1 2 0 1 
			 Staffordshire 98 1 1 0 0 0 
			 Suffolk 98 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Surrey 96 2 0 1 0 1 
			 Sussex 99 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Thames Valley 93 2 1 1 0 3 
			 Warwickshire 95 1 0 3 0 1 
			 West Mercia 99 0 0 1 0 0 
			 West Midlands 92 1 2 4 0 0 
			 West Yorkshire 96 1 1 2 0 0 
			 Wiltshire 99 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Dyfed-Powys 99 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Gwent 99 1 0 0 0 0 
			 North Wales 99 0 0 0 0 1 
			 South Wales 86 1 0 0 0 12 
			 (1 )Percentage figures based on full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.

Police: Manpower

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will estimate the number of police officers  (a) per head of population and  (b) per notifiable offence in each year from 1997 in (i) England and Wales and (ii) each police force in England and Wales.

Tony McNulty: The available data are given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: Police officers( 0)  (FTE)( 2)  per 100,000 of the population by police force, as at 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2008 
			   As at 31 March 
			  Police force  1997( 3)  1998  1999  2000  2001( 4)  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Avon and Somerset 204 203 203 197 197 205 213 229 225 226 224 218 
			 Bedfordshire 200 197 189 185 184 189 198 210 215 213 207 204 
			 Cambridgeshire 188 184 179 172 179 187 196 197 194 196 187 183 
			 Cheshire 209 208 211 204 204 209 217 224 223 223 225 218 
			 Cleveland 261 266 255 252 253 263 294 314 305 308 315 303 
			 Cumbria 233 237 229 220 213 224 237 254 257 256 255 251 
			 Derbyshire 187 184 182 183 187 189 210 216 213 212 209 212 
			 Devon and Cornwall 186 192 186 182 187 192 204 208 212 219 216 214 
			 Dorset 189 192 186 189 196 198 205 209 211 216 217 216 
			 Durham 240 249 258 256 263 266 281 288 293 288 285 272 
			 Essex 197 193 190 183 178 181 186 192 198 203 203 203 
			 Gloucestershire 205 198 197 200 209 209 219 229 230 228 229 234 
			 Greater Manchester 268 270 265 264 268 279 298 323 321 318 314 315 
			 Hampshire 198 199 197 193 193 195 208 211 212 211 215 214 
			 Hertfordshire 205 202 198 201 184 174 191 204 206 208 210 204 
			 Humberside 230 228 223 219 217 234 244 256 255 251 251 248 
			 Kent 210 209 204 203 209 210 221 228 227 227 229 227 
			 Lancashire 228 229 228 223 228 231 239 252 251 253 252 254 
			 Leicestershire 211 214 215 215 218 224 232 246 246 241 237 233 
			 Lincolnshire 196 193 184 179 191 189 191 189 185 183 183 175 
			 London, City of(5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) 
			 Merseyside 296 297 298 290 291 294 302 303 318 315 325 331 
			 Metropolitan Police(5) 367 356 352 341 351 366 404 420 433 428 426 430 
			 Norfolk 185 184 176 175 178 183 189 190 192 193 191 190 
			 Northamptonshire 196 193 186 181 186 194 194 198 201 207 200 196 
			 Northumbria 256 263 269 266 272 278 290 294 294 291 283 285 
			 North Yorkshire 183 186 181 173 175 188 193 203 206 216 217 202 
			 Nottinghamshire 225 225 216 214 214 226 239 245 245 243 235 224 
			 South Yorkshire 242 244 243 243 245 246 252 261 260 259 256 248 
			 Staffordshire 209 217 211 204 201 201 212 218 220 219 219 214 
			 Suffolk 180 179 179 171 168 177 188 196 195 191 196 188 
			 Surrey 209 207 212 227 192 184 182 183 184 184 183 179 
			 Sussex 211 203 191 188 188 190 203 206 205 207 205 201 
			 Thames Valley 180 183 180 178 175 177 186 195 198 202 199 194 
			 Warwickshire 186 185 180 178 182 190 198 197 195 198 199 198 
			 West Mercia 183 180 180 166 171 176 196 202 203 202 205 210 
			 West Midlands 270 271 278 274 283 293 307 311 316 318 318 324 
			 West Yorkshire 247 244 236 228 228 230 242 254 271 270 270 269 
			 Wiltshire 195 195 192 185 184 189 190 198 198 196 192 190 
			 Dyfed-Powys 212 210 215 217 219 234 237 236 237 237 236 237 
			 Gwent 275 222 224 227 229 239 244 248 259 264 268 266 
			 North Wales 208 213 212 213 220 228 234 243 250 242 238 234 
			 South Wales 223 242 241 236 250 259 273 275 273 271 273 264 
			  
			 England and Wales 241 240 237 233 234 240 254 264 267 267 266 264 
			 (1) This table is based on full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Figures up to 31 March 2002 exclude staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. The figures for 31 March 2003 onwards figures include those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (3) Boundary changes on 1 April 1996 transferred resources for the policing of the Rhymney Valley from South Wales Police to Gwent Police. (4) Boundary changes on 1 April 2000 transferred some resources from the Metropolitan Police to Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey police forces. (5) Officers per 100,000 population for City of London and Metropolitan Police are combined. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Total offences per officer for 1997 
			  Police force area  1997 
			 Avon and Somerset 48 
			 Bedfordshire 44 
			 Cambridgeshire 47 
			 Cheshire 30 
			 Cleveland 43 
			 Cumbria 31 
			 Derbyshire 42 
			 Devon and Cornwall 32 
			 Dorset 34 
			 Durham 32 
			 Essex 31 
			 Gloucestershire 43 
			 Greater Manchester 44 
			 Hampshire 36 
			 Hertfordshire 29 
			 Humberside 60 
			 Kent 38 
			 Lancashire 37 
			 Leicestershire 41 
			 Lincolnshire 36 
			 London, City of 6 
			 Merseyside 30 
			 Metropolitan Police 30 
			 Norfolk 37 
			 Northamptonshire 46 
			 Northumbria 37 
			 North Yorkshire 37 
			 Nottinghamshire 55 
			 South Yorkshire 41 
			 Staffordshire 39 
			 Suffolk 30 
			 Surrey 24 
			 Sussex 37 
			 Thames Valley 42 
			 Warwickshire 39 
			 West Mercia 38 
			 West Midlands 39 
			 West Yorkshire 47 
			 Wiltshire 29 
			 Dyfed-Powys 18 
			 Gwent 38 
			 North Wales 29 
			 South Wales 44 
			   
			 England and Wales 37 
			  Note: Recorded crime statistics were collected on a calendar year basis up to 1997 and thereafter on a financial year basis. Therefore, these figures are not comparable with those for later years.  Source: Population estimates are provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Total offences per officer for 1998-99 to 2001-02 
			  Police force area  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Avon and Somerset 50 50 50 57 
			 Bedfordshire 47 52 48 49 
			 Cambridgeshire 53 56 50 51 
			 Cheshire 31 32 32 34 
			 Cleveland 47 46 46 49 
			 Cumbria 36 35 31 34 
			 Derbyshire 48 48 45 49 
			 Devon and Cornwall 38 39 35 33 
			 Dorset 41 40 37 40 
			 Durham 32 31 28 32 
			 Essex 33 37 37 38 
			 Gloucestershire 44 46 43 43 
			 Greater Manchester 53 55 53 53 
			 Hampshire 37 40 39 39 
			 Hertfordshire 29 30 33 37 
			 Humberside 66 63 58 57 
			 Kent 40 39 39 36 
			 Lancashire 36 34 36 42 
			 Leicestershire 47 47 43 42 
			 Lincolnshire 41 41 37 42 
			 London, City of 9 11 12 13 
			 Merseyside 33 36 35 37 
			 Metropolitan Police 36 41 40 40 
			 Norfolk 41 43 40 40 
			 Northamptonshire 58 55 49 50 
			 Northumbria 39 38 35 35 
			 North Yorkshire 41 42 40 42 
			 Nottinghamshire 61 62 61 68 
			 South Yorkshire 42 42 39 42 
			 Staffordshire 41 46 49 55 
			 Suffolk 34 38 39 42 
			 Surrey 26 26 31 31 
			 Sussex 46 48 48 47 
			 Thames Valley 47 51 51 52 
			 Warwickshire 42 43 40 44 
			 West Mercia 40 45 40 51 
			 West Midlands 43 51 49 48 
			 West Yorkshire 55 54 54 61 
			 Wiltshire 33 34 33 33 
			 Dyfed-Powys 24 23 22 21 
			 Gwent 47 48 45 35 
			 North Wales 32 32 33 36 
			 South Wales 45 43 35 36 
			  
			 England and Wales: 41 43 42 43 
			  Notes: 1. The coverage was extended and counting rules revised from 1989-99. Figures from that date are not directly comparable with those for 1997 and earlier. 2. The data in this table are prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years.  Source: Population estimates are provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Total offences per officer for 2002-03 to 2007-08 
			  Police force area  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Avon and Somerset 55 48 48 46 48 43 
			 Bedfordshire 55 53 48 50 48 44 
			 Cambridgeshire 61 57 53 47 50 48 
			 Cheshire 40 42 41 44 41 37 
			 Cleveland 47 44 41 43 40 40 
			 Cumbria 33 32 35 35 31 29 
			 Derbyshire 52 48 41 40 40 37 
			 Devon and Cornwall 41 40 40 36 36 32 
			 Dorset 44 44 40 40 37 35 
			 Durham 31 29 27 31 32 30 
			 Essex 46 47 42 40 39 36 
			 Gloucestershire 45 45 41 41 40 34 
			 Greater Manchester 52 46 40 41 42 38 
			 Hampshire 42 48 46 47 48 43 
			 Hertfordshire 44 46 46 45 42 38 
			 Humberside 63 64 56 52 51 44 
			 Kent 37 38 38 41 40 36 
			 Lancashire 39 43 43 40 38 34 
			 Leicestershire 45 42 42 41 42 40 
			 Lincolnshire 51 49 48 47 45 43 
			 London, City of 12 11 10 10 9 9 
			 Merseyside 40 41 40 41 35 29 
			 Metropolitan Police 39 36 33 32 30 28 
			 Norfolk 48 46 43 42 40 36 
			 Northamptonshire 61 63 58 52 52 50 
			 Northumbria 42 39 35 33 33 28 
			 North Yorkshire 47 47 40 36 33 32 
			 Nottinghamshire 67 64 57 56 57 54 
			 South Yorkshire 48 43 43 50 49 46 
			 Staffordshire 49 48 44 46 46 40 
			 Suffolk 40 41 40 41 38 37 
			 Surrey 36 38 37 36 39 36 
			 Sussex 44 44 46 44 43 39 
			 Thames Valley 54 52 50 48 50 48 
			 Warwickshire 44 45 43 42 43 39 
			 West Mercia 47 45 40 36 34 33 
			 West Midlands 45 43 36 36 34 30 
			 West Yorkshire 64 62 47 46 44 40 
			 Wiltshire 38 35 33 35 37 37 
			 Dyfed-Powys 22 27 28 26 26 22 
			 Gwent 46 43 40 37 36 33 
			 North Wales 42 39 33 31 34 29 
			 South Wales 44 42 38 38 37 39 
			
			 England and Wales: 45 43 40 39 38 35 
			  Notes: The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are therefore not directly comparable with those for earlier years.  Source: Population estimates are provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Work Permits: Health Professions

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which 20 non-EU nationalities received the most work permits for  (a) doctors and  (b) nurses in each year since 1997; and how many such work permits were issued to non-EU nationals in each of those years.

Liam Byrne: Tables placed in the House Library show the 20 non-EU nationalities (where applicable) with the highest number of work permits granted each year for doctors and nurses in the period 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2007.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Adoption

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many  (a) people and  (b) couples had been assessed as suitable adoptive parents and were yet to adopt at the most recent date for which information is available;
	(2)  how many  (a) people and  (b) couples were assessed as suitable adoptive parents in each of the last 10 years;
	(3)  how many children who were adopted waited longer than  (a) one month,  (b) six months and  (c) one year to be adopted following the decision that adoption was in their best interest in each of the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: holding answer 10 September 2008
	The information requested is as follows:
	 223342
	Data on how many  (a) people and  (b) couples have been assessed as suitable adoptive parents and were yet to adopt are not collected centrally by the Department.
	 223344
	Data on how many  (a) people and  (b) couples have been assessed as suitable adoptive parents in each of the last 10 years are not collected centrally by the Department.
	 223345
	Information on how many children who were adopted waited longer than  (a) one month,  (b) six months and  (c) one year to be adopted following the decision that adoption was in their best interest in each of the last five years is shown in the following table.
	The table provides the information requested for looked after children who were adopted. The figures shown for the time between the decision that adoption was in the child's best interest and the date of adoption are cumulative.
	
		
			  Looked after children adopted during the years ending 31 March by the time between the decision that adoption was in their best interest and adoption, 2003 to 2007( 1, 2) 
			   Year ending 31 March in which adopted 
			  England  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 All Children looked after adopted 3,500 3,800 3,800 3,700 3,300 
			 Time between decision that adoption was in the best interest and adoption  
			 More than 1 month (30 days) 3,500 3,800 3,800 3,700 3,300 
			 More than 6 months (182 days) 3,400 3,600 3,600 3,500 3,200 
			 More than 1 year 2,500 2,700 2,600 2,500 2,400 
			 (1) SSDA903 return on children looked after. (2) Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials.

Children: Databases

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how and by whom the new statutory guidance on sections 10 and 11 of the Children Act 2004 will be monitored and evaluated; and when he expects the first evaluation to be completed.

Beverley Hughes: As set out in the Children's Plan launched by the Secretary of State in December 2007, the Government are committed to publishing revised statutory guidance under Section 10 of the Children Act 2004 on inter-agency co-operation to improve the well-being of children, young people and families later this year. A revised version of the statutory guidance under Section 11 on making arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, originally issued in 2005, was published in April 2007. The Government have no plans to issue further revised guidance at this stage.
	The Government have no plans to provide specific additional funding for implementing these guidance documents, which are intended to clarify the statutory responsibilities of local authorities and other bodies, including health agencies, for which they receive mainstream funding. The Government have however commissioned an audit of the extent to which public organisations have been complying with their duties under Section 11. The results of the survey will be made public in spring 2009.
	From April 2009, the performance of local authorities and their partners will be assessed under the new, multi-inspectorate Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA). This will focus on the delivery of key outcomes in an area, and the contribution of statutory and non-statutory partners, including health agencies, will be in scope. Inspectorates are currently consulting on CAA, and intend to publish their framework in February 2009. CAA will report annually, with the first reports in November 2009.

Departmental Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by press officers in his Department and its agencies in each of the last three financial years.

Jim Knight: The total amount claimed as reimbursable expenses by press officers are as follows:
	
		
			
			 2005-06 2,688 
			 2006-07 4,981 
			 2007-08 5,036 
		
	
	These figures include expenses claimed by press officers who transferred to DIUS in the machinery of government changes in 2007. We do not hold records of expenses claimed by any outside agencies.

Education and Inspection Act 2006: Parenting Orders

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many parenting orders under section 98 of the Education and Inspection Act 2006 have been issued since September 2007.

Jim Knight: To date, no local authority has applied to the courts for a parenting order following a pupil's exclusion from school or for serious misbehaviour. Use of parenting orders was always intended to be a last resort, after local authorities and schools had used a wide range of strategies to address poor behaviour in schools such as voluntary parenting contracts for behaviour. 86 local authorities have agreed over 6,500 parenting contracts for behaviour since September 2004.

Education: Assessments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what proportion of  (a) English,  (b) mathematics and  (c) science key stage 3 tests he estimates will have been marked and entered into the computer system by 15 July 2008; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) key stage 2 and  (b) key stage 3 pupils who will not receive their national test results in (i) English, (ii) mathematics and (iii) science by 18 July 2008; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  which schools will not receive their national test results by 18 July 2008; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what progress has been made in marking key stage 2 and 3 national test papers; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The administration and marking of national curriculum tests is a function of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) that is delivered independently of Government. The National Assessment Agency (NAA) manages the marking process within the QCA. NAA has advised that, to date, the proportion of Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 English, maths and science results available to schools are as follows:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			  Key Stage 2  
			 English 99.4 
			 Mathematics 99.6 
			 Science 99.7 
			   
			  Key Stage 3  
			 English 97.4 
			 Mathematics 98.9 
			 Science 99.9

Education: Assessments

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  by what date he expects all key stage 2 test results to have been delivered to schools;
	(2)  by what date he expects all key stage 3 test results to have been delivered to schools.

Jim Knight: The administration and marking of national curriculum tests is a function of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) that is delivered independently of Government. The National Assessment Agency (NAA) manages the marking process within the QCA. NAA has advised that, at present, over 99.5 per cent. of Key Stage 2 and over 98 per cent. of Key Stage 3 results have been made available to schools.

National Strategies: Finance

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the budget is, including monies allocated through the Standards Fund and Area-Based Agreements, for the National Strategies in 2008-09.

Jim Knight: The budget allocated for the National Strategies programmes in 2008-09 is:
	86 million for the central support and challenge function to local authorities, schools and early years settings, including substantial free resources provided through the web and in hard copy form. This central resource supports a range of programmes, for example school improvement, behaviour and attendance and early years, whose local delivery is supported from other budgets.
	60 million for local authority delivery and support to schools which is now a component part of the area based grant paid to local authorities.
	218 million standards fund grant for schools to access the national strategies' core training and support.

Pre-School Education: Disadvantaged

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department has taken to ensure that children from disadvantaged families have the same access to pre-school educational care as other children.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 15 September 2008
	All three and four-year-olds are now guaranteed free, part time early education, so that they can receive two years high quality early learning before school starting age. Local authorities are required to reach out to particularly disadvantaged and hard to reach groups within their local community to maximise take up of this free entitlement. We are also piloting free early years provision to 13,000 disadvantaged two-year-olds across 32 local authorities. As set out in the Children's Plan, we are investing 100 million over three years to extend the offer of up to 15 hours of free early education and child care to a further 20,000 two-year-olds in the most disadvantaged communities.
	Since April 2008, local authorities have been under a duty to secure sufficient child care for working parents in their area, paying particular attention to the needs of families from disadvantaged backgrounds as reported in their child care sufficiency assessments. We are also doing more than ever to make good quality child care affordable, particularly through spending some 3.5 million every day on tax credits for lower and middle income working families. The Department is running an 'Affordable Childcare' media campaign, aimed at disadvantaged families in particular, informing parents of the benefits of child care for children and the financial help available through tax credits. In addition, we are pursuing an initiative to improve the take-up of child care by hard-to-reach and black and minority ethnic families, as well as a scheme to help workless families with child care as they train for work.

Schools: Inspections

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what  (a) formal and  (b) informal support measures his Department provides to headteachers whose school is undergoing an Ofsted inspection.

Jim Knight: The Department does not provide specific support to head teachers during a school inspection. However, Ofsted provides a helpline which head teachers can access if they need advice or have concerns about an inspection.
	Ofsted aims to make the school inspection process as transparent as possible. It publishes its inspection guidance so that head teachers can benefit from a clear understanding of how their school will be inspected. It also produces the Self-evaluation Form (SEF) and jointly with Department provides schools with RAISEonline, a performance data package which allows schools to analyse their own performance. Both these link to the framework used by inspectors in assessing a school, which is published.
	All schools have School Improvement Partners tasked with providing regular professional challenge and support in the process of school improvement, including help with taking forward Ofsted's recommendations.

Schools: Standards

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of pupils who have taken part in the Making Good Progress pilot did not pass the single level test at the first attempt in  (a) English,  (b) mathematics and  (c) science at key stage 2 (i) level 4 and (ii) level 5.

Jim Knight: National level results of the single level tests have not yet been published. They will be published as part of an independent evaluation of the Making Good Progress pilot which is being conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Their interim report will be published in autumn 2008.

Schools: Standards

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of pupils who have taken part in the Making Good Progress pilot to date reached key stage 2 level 4 in  (a) English,  (b) mathematics and  (c) science by the end of year 6.

Jim Knight: We are not able to provide results from the 2008 Key Stage 2 National Curriculum assessments for schools involved in the Making Good Progress pilot. These results are currently provisional and have been published at national and local authority level only.
	The percentage of pupils achieving level 4 in Key Stage 2 National Curriculum assessments in English, mathematics and science will be published at school level, including schools involved in the Making Good Progress pilot, in the 2008 Primary Achievement and Attainment Tables.
	National level results of the single level tests have not yet been published. They will be published as part of an independent evaluation of the Making Good Progress pilot which is being conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Their interim report will be published in autumn 2008.

Schools: Standards

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  in how many schools  (a) 75 per cent. or more and  (b) 50 per cent. or more of pupils eligible to receive free school meals did not achieve a single GCSE above grade D in the latest academic year for which figures are available;
	(2)  in how many schools 50 per cent. or more of pupils did not achieve a single GCSE above grade D in the latest academic year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The information requested is as follows.
	In 103 schools 75 per cent. or more of the pupils eligible to receive free school meals did not attain any GCSE and equivalent grades higher than a D in 2006/07.
	In 754 schools 50 per cent. or more of the pupils eligible to receive free school meals did not attain any GCSE and equivalent grades higher than a D in 2006/07.
	Of the 76,568 pupils eligible for FSM attending maintained secondary schools who took any GCSE and equivalent in 2006/07, 30,881 (40.3 per cent.) did not attain grades higher than a D.
	In 483 schools 50 per cent. or more of the pupils did not attain any GCSE and equivalent grades higher than a D in 2006/07.
	These figures relate to GCSE and equivalent and based on pupils at the end of KS4 in all maintained schools.
	Only schools with 10 or more pupils are included in the answer.

Sure Start Programme: Manpower

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what the total  (a) number and  (b) cost was of health visitors, midwives and community nursery nurses employed by Sure Start local programmes and paid for by the Sure Start Local Programme Block in 2007-08; and what the allocations are for these services in each year from 2008-09 to 2010-11;
	(2)  what the total  (a) number and  (b) cost was of dedicated outreach workers employed by Sure Start local programmes and paid for by the Sure Start Local Programme Block in 2007-08; and what the allocations are for these services in each year from 2008-09 to 2010-11.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 15 September 2008
	The Department does not collect information on the total number and cost of staff employed in Sure Start children's centres and paid for by the Sure Start children's centre revenue funding in 2007-08 (Sure Start local programmes have all become children's centres). That is a matter for local management by local authorities and their partner agencies. We allocate revenue funding to local authorities for Sure Start children's centres through the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant. Local authorities determine how much individual centres receive to meet the needs of the local community. We notified local authorities of their Sure Start children's centres funding allocations for each year from 2008-09 to 2010-11 in August 2007 and these are available on the Sure Start website at
	http://www.surestart.gov.uk/publications/index.cfm?document=1925
	The majority of health visitors, midwives and community nursery nurses who work from children's centres are employed by the local health service and would not be funded by the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant. We do not collect information on how many health visitors, midwives and community nursery nurses work from children's centres.

JUSTICE

Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to increase the financial penalty arising from the issuance of a penalty notice for disorder.

David Hanson: There are no plans to increase the financial penalty arising from the issue of a PND, at present.
	Under the PND Scheme, the police can issue a fixed penalty of 50 or 80 for a specified range of anti-social behaviour offences including minor shoplifting and criminal damage. Penalty levels are kept under review.

Community Orders

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average time between the passing of a sentence for a community order and the defendant's becoming engaged in the activity or requirement ordered was in each criminal justice area in England and Wales in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

David Hanson: National Standards for the Management of Offenders require that community orders begin in a timely manner and this is monitored by Probation Areas. Full year data are only available for 2006-07 and 2007-08 in relation to the start of unpaid work, drug rehabilitation and specific activity requirements are shown in tables 1 and 2. National Standards state that these requirements commence within 10 working days, two working days and 15 working days respectively.
	In respect of all community orders, with the exception of stand alone curfew and attendance centre requirements, offender managers are required to initiate contact with offenders within five working days of sentence. The extent to which this was achieved by probation areas during 2007-08 and 2006-07(1) is shown in tables 3 and 4.
	Figures relating to the start of community orders are not available for each criminal justice area, but are instead broken down by probation areas. The tables(2) provide a summary of National Standards monitoring in 2007-08 and 2006-07(1).
	National Standard requirements may not be met in some occasions as a result of operational pressures within probation areas or as a result of offenders failing to report as instructed.
	(1) Full year data is unavailable prior to this period.
	(2) Figures are extracted from large scale administrative systems, which may be subject to data input errors.
	
		
			  Table 1: Unpaid work requirements, drug testing and treatment orders/drug rehabilitation requirements and specific activity requirements 2007-08 
			   Percentage of unpaid work requirements commenced within 10 working days  Percentage of d rug  testing and treatment orders/drug r ehabilitation  r equirements commenced within two working days  Percentage of s pecified  activity r equirements commenced within 15 working days 
			  Probation area  Number of cases in sample  Percentage of cases commenced within 10 w/days  Number of cases in sample  Percentage of cases commenced within two w/days  Number of cases in sample  Percentage of cases commenced within 15 w/days 
			 Avon and Somerset 246 53 40 68 36 56 
			 Bedfordshire 165 79 30 63 9 56 
			 Cambridgeshire 163 61 24 54 21 48 
			 Cheshire 315 72 35 66 5 80 
			 County Durham 156 89 26 65 11 64 
			 Cumbria 247 85 21 76 0  
			 Derbyshire 276 66 83 86 29 76 
			 Devon and Cornwall 327 77 109 68 5 60 
			 Dorset 151 83 14 71 20 65 
			 Dyfed Powys 122 87 27 70 0  
			 Essex 455 77 38 47 64 64 
			 Gloucestershire 107 69 24 71 24 58 
			 Greater Manchester 1,438 75 244 61 10 40 
			 Gwent 208 75 48 65 95 58 
			 Hampshire 598 60 87 63 112 45 
			 Hertfordshire 246 78 19 42 85 33 
			 Humberside 302 72 66 76 66 55 
			 Kent 513 74 46 72 118 58 
			 Lancashire 538 69 107 63 3 33 
			 Leicestershire 456 84 71 85 44 34 
			 Lincolnshire 135 75 39 62 59 31 
			 London 2,202 45 408 48 160 48 
			 Merseyside 525 86 140 78 87 29 
			 Norfolk 289 85 50 74 8 50 
			 North Wales 229 90 37 51 26 56 
			 North Yorkshire 202 83 16 50 69 43 
			 Northamptonshire 285 88 69 86 70 73 
			 Northumbria 511 70 113 80 64 55 
			 Nottinghamshire 402 82 69 86 31 74 
			 South Wales 451 78 64 69 25 56 
			 South Yorkshire 464 84 113 68 17 47 
			 Staffordshire 276 70 104 77 120 32 
			 Suffolk 243 80 27 85 1 0 
			 Surrey 180 86 21 76 3 67 
			 Sussex 456 83 68 72 40 38 
			 Teesside 185 79 54 57 35 63 
			 Thames Valley 651 48 1090 72   
			 Warwickshire 158 71 22 59 22 36 
			 West Mercia 429 77 67 67| 13 62 
			 West Midlands 734 68 193 66 47 47 
			 West Yorkshire 877 82 158 61 15 20 
			 Wiltshire 136 82 22 64 32 66 
			 England and Wales 12,154 71 3,084 66 1,802 50 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Unpaid work requirements, drug testing and treatment orders/drug rehabilitation requirements and specific activity requirements 2006-07 
			   Percentage of unpaid work requirements commenced within 10 working days  Percentage of  drug testing and treatment orders/drug r ehabilitation  r equirements commenced within two working days  Percentage of s pecified  activity r equirements commenced within 15 working days 
			  Probation area  Number of cases in sample  Percentage of cases commenced within required 10 w/days  Number of cases in sample  Percentage of cases commenced within two w/days  Number of cases in sample  Percentage of cases commenced within 15 w/days 
			 Avon and Somerset 302 60 69 62 32 53 
			 Bedfordshire 156 62 30 57 13 31 
			 Cambridgeshire 178 56 22 41 17 41 
			 Cheshire 259 75 57 56 9 56 
			 County Durham 171 86 11 64 18 39 
			 Cumbria 188 86 20 70 0  
			 Derbyshire 339 66 75 77 31 48 
			 Devon and Cornwall 368 71 82 63 1 100 
			 Dorset 140 81 18 89 16 81 
			 Dyfed Powys 96 76 28 93 0  
			 Essex 214 51 14 64 32 44 
			 Gloucestershire 105 75 10 80 30 57 
			 Greater Manchester 1,392 80 291 59 11 82 
			 Gwent 201 79 58 79 68 60 
			 Hampshire 575 63 77 73 118 52 
			 Hertfordshire 242 69 34 62 37 43 
			 Humberside 319 74 67 63 49 53 
			 Kent 497 78 55 60 77 77 
			 Lancashire 494 70 119 69 3 67 
			 Leicestershire 443 84 93 83 28 43 
			 Lincolnshire 113 66 50 66 47 40 
			 London 2,359 45 456 51 145 49 
			 Merseyside 504 88 97 72 50 28 
			 Norfolk 265 77 34 62 7 43 
			 North Wales 204 83 24 46 61 36 
			 North Yorkshire 263 82 30 90 67 54 
			 Northamptonshire 163 80 33 73 50 38 
			 Northumbria 448 70 107 57 55 44 
			 Nottinghamshire 419 66 89 72 23 78 
			 South Wales 443 86 64 66 32 66 
			 South Yorkshire 453 78 77 90 13 38 
			 Staffordshire 268 79 83 72 133 38 
			 Suffolk 105 79 8 63 1 0 
			 Surrey 163 88 44 77 2 50 
			 Sussex 376 83 67 73 14 29 
			 Teesside 235 77 47 66 44 61 
			 Thames Valley 605 48 81 51 50 58 
			 Warwickshire 139 68 34 76 16 13 
			 West Mercia 390 70 50 54 15 67 
			 West Midlands 584 46 248 70 81 47 
			 West Yorkshire 762 74 191 61 2 100 
			 Wiltshire 139 78 34 79 14 36 
			 England and Wales 16,082 69 3,178 65 1,512 49 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: First appointment arranged with offender manager within five working days of sentence 2007-08 
			  Probation area  Number of cases in sample  Percentage of cases in which first appointment was arranged with offender manager within five working days 
			 Avon and Somerset 452 83 
			 Bedfordshire 287 95 
			 Cambridgeshire 276 76 
			 Cheshire 549 91 
			 County Durham 346 95 
			 Cumbria 393 94 
			 Derbyshire 365 94 
			 Devon and Cornwall 550 96 
			 Dorset 219 89 
			 Dyfed Powys 247 97 
			 Essex 663 89 
			 Gloucestershire 211 86 
			 Greater Manchester 2,520 96 
			 Gwent 377 95 
			 Hampshire 954 83 
			 Hertfordshire 495 87 
			 Humberside 526 98 
			 Kent 741 97 
			 Lancashire 1,091 95 
			 Leicestershire 720 94 
			 Lincolnshire 260 80 
			 London 3,024 58 
			 Merseyside 964 94 
			 Norfolk 414 97 
			 North Wales 438 95 
			 North Yorkshire 367 96 
			 Northamptonshire 461 96 
			 Northumbria 1,127 94 
			 Nottinghamshire 788 95 
			 South Wales 777 94 
			 South Yorkshire 944 96 
			 Staffordshire 565 87 
			 Suffolk 360 97 
			 Surrey 332 95 
			 Sussex 821 88 
			 Teesside 418 98 
			 Thames Valley 1,027 82 
			 Warwickshire 288 94 
			 West Mercia 801 90 
			 West Midlands 1,657 86 
			 West Yorkshire 1,607 98 
			 Wiltshire 221 87 
			 England and Wales 29,741 89 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: First appointment arranged with offender manager within five working days of sentence 2006-07 
			  Probation area  Number of cases in sample  Percentage of cases in which first appointment was arranged with offender manager within five working days 
			 Avon and Somerset 505 91 
			 Bedfordshire 314 91 
			 Cambridgeshire 263 71 
			 Cheshire 510 89 
			 County Durham 333 97 
			 Cumbria 323 90 
			 Derbyshire 503 93 
			 Devon and Cornwall 605 94 
			 Dorset 217 91 
			 Dyfed Powys 220 96 
			 Essex 327 90 
			 Gloucestershire 218 89 
			 Greater Manchester 2,445 94 
			 Gwent 356 97 
			 Hampshire 823 86 
			 Hertfordshire 467 80 
			 Humberside 542 96 
			 Kent 747 95 
			 Lancashire 960 95 
			 Leicestershire 681 88 
			 Lincolnshire 242 92 
			 London 3,405 57 
			 Merseyside 968 96 
			 Norfolk 415 92 
			 North Wales 379 95 
			 North Yorkshire 416 95 
			 Northamptonshire 294 84 
			 Northumbria 1,051 94 
			 Nottinghamshire 787 94 
			 South Wales 751 93 
			 South Yorkshire 987 90 
			 Staffordshire 569 90 
			 Suffolk 178 96 
			 Surrey 292 87 
			 Sussex 666 89 
			 Teesside 478 93 
			 Thames Valley 977 76 
			 Warwickshire 261 92 
			 West Mercia 685 93 
			 West Midlands 1,420 83 
			 West Yorkshire 1,606 95 
			 Wiltshire 263 85 
			 England and Wales 28,567 87

Crown Prosecution Service

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he plans to take following the comments regarding the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) made by the tribunal in the action brought by Halima Aziz against the CPS.

Vera Baird: I have been asked to reply.
	The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has accepted the recommendations contained in the tribunal's judgment and is taking steps to implement them. The CPS does not accept certain elements of the judgment in relation to its conduct of the litigation and the internal investigation following the decision of the Court of Appeal. On those elements it is seeking a review and appeal. In light of this continued litigation, it is not appropriate to comment further until the matter is concluded.

Curfews: Monitoring

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reasons his Department decided to put in place arrangements for the remote monitoring of compliance with curfew conditions of certain offenders who have transferred to England and Wales from Scotland, as determined by Schedule 2 of Statutory Instrument No. 1788.

David Hanson: The Scotland Act 1998 (Agency Arrangements) (Specification) (No 2) Order 2008 is part of the legislative framework which will facilitate the cross border transfer of prisoners. It will allow prisoners serving a prison sentence in Scotland who would be released under the Home Detention Curfew (HDC) scheme there to be released, on a restricted transfer basis, to an address in England or Wales and vice versa.
	Officials in my Department and the Scottish Executive are working together to put the contractual arrangements with the electronic monitoring contractors in place to enable full cross border arrangements to come into effect on 20 October 2008.

Departmental Appeals

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions his Department and its predecessor instructed the Treasury Solicitor to seek leave to appeal to the House of Lords from  (a) the Court of Appeal and  (b) the House of Lords itself in each of the last 10 years; and on how many occasions the application was rejected.

Michael Wills: Neither the Treasury Solicitor nor the Ministry keep central records and we have not been able to identify any cases to which the Minister of Justice, Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs or the Lord Chancellor was a party, where the Treasury Solicitor applied for leave to appeal to the House of Lords and was refused. We cannot, therefore, say whether there were any such cases and, if so, how many.
	We are aware that the Court of Appeal granted the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs leave to appeal to the House of Lords in two cases. In one of those cases, the House of Lords gave Secretary of State of Justice permission to appeal.

Departmental Data Protection

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what incidents of data loss by or from his Department there have been since 1 July 2007; and what instructions or protocols there are in his Department to prevent such losses.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice has published details of significant personal data related incidents in 2007-08 in its resource accounts laid before this House on 21 July 2008. For the year 2008-09 to date there has been one significant incident, involving the loss of an inadequately protected storage device from the premises of an IT contractor. Other data losses will be handled at local level and compiling information on these could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 25 June 2008,  Official Report, column 26WS, providing the final report on measures for data handling procedures in Government.
	The Ministry of Justice has procedures and guidance covering security, information security and data protection designed to identify and control the risk of the unauthorised release of personal data taking place. They include:
	Ensuring our sites are physically secure and protected from unauthorised access
	Ensuring our employees are reliable through checks on background
	Providing guidance to staff on general security with separate guidance on IT security and data protection issues
	Procedures for assessing IT systems
	We also have systems, for monitoring and checking compliance
	These policies and procedures extend to our contracted suppliers.

Departmental Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many staff in his Department have had five or more periods of sickness absence of less than five days in two or more of the last five years;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of staff in his Department and its predecessor have had more than two periods of sickness absence of less than five days in each of the last three years.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice was created on 9 May 2007 bringing together the former Department for Constitutional Affairs and National Offender Management Service, including the Prison and Probation Services and the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.
	Figures for the National Offender Management Service and HM Prison Service were the responsibility of the Home Office until the creation of the Ministry of Justice.
	Information for HM Prison Service, the National Offender Management Service and the Office for Criminal Justice Reform are available separately for the year April 2007 to March 2008, however any previous figures are integrated within the Home Office data.
	Sickness absence data as held by the former Department for Constitutional Affairs cannot be broken down to the level of detail requested. However, the general trend of sickness levels in the Ministry overall is downwards. Concerted management attention has been given to attendance across the Ministry over the last 18 months and the Q1/2008 average working days lost (AWDL) per employee was 10.4 dayswith HMCS 11.3 days and Tribunal Services 8.2 days. The latest working records indicate the year to date sickness levels to July equate to an annualised AWDL of 9.9 days, reflecting the downward trend. It should be noted that 50 per cent. of the absence figure is made up of 'long-term' cases where absence is greater than 20 working days.
	Within Her Majesty's Prison Service 361 staff have taken five or more periods of sickness absence of less than five days duration in two or more of the years between 2003-04 and 2007-08. An absence of less than five days is defined as an absence where the return to work is less than five days after the first day of absence.
	The Ministry is currently developing a new Attendance Management Policy which, subject to remaining consultations with unions, is intended for launch before the end of this calendar year. The introduction of the new policy will upgrade and standardise the procedures for recording absence across the former DCA so that more detailed analysis of attendance trends and case management can be conducted in future.
	
		
			  Staff taking more than two periods of sick absence of less than five days duration 
			   Staff taking more than 2 periods of sick absence of less than 5 days duration  Percentage of staff in post 
			  2007-08   
			 HM Prison Service 3,114 6.2 
			 National Offender Management Service and the Office for Criminal Justice Reform 172 10.0 
			 Former DCA 1  
			
			  2006-07   
			 HM Prison Service 3,531 7.2 
			 National Offender Management Service and the Office for Criminal Justice Reform Included in Home Office Figures  
			 Former DCA -(1)  
			
			  2005-06   
			 HM Prison Service 3,749 7.7 
			 National Offender Management Service and the Office for Criminal Justice Reform Included in Home Office Figures  
			 Former DCA 1  
			 (1 )See aforementioned note: data not available at this level of detail

Domestic Violence

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 22 July,  Official Report, column 1217W, on domestic violence, how many people have commenced, but not completed, the CDVP and IDAP programmes; and how many people ordered to attend a domestic violence programme have failed to  (a) commence and  (b) complete such a programme.

David Hanson: Information on delivery of the CDVP (Community Domestic Violence Programme) and IDAP (Integrated Domestic Abuse Programme) is given in the following table. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
	
		
			   2007-08( 1, 2, 3) 
			 Number enrolled(3) 4,927 
			 Number commenced 4,388 
			 Failure to commence 539 
			 Number of completion 2,800 
			 Failure to complete (of enrolled) 1,588 
			 (1 )Data subject to occasional updating. (2 )Reassignment to programmes, leads to some multiple starts per offender. (3 )Equivalent to ordered.

Legal Services Commission: Pay

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what expenditure his Department incurred on bonuses for the Legal Services Commission's  (a) Executive Team,  (b) staff and (c) directors in the last two years.

Maria Eagle: As a non-departmental public body, the Legal Services Commission (LSC) is responsible for its own administrative budget which includes staff pay. The Ministry of Justice and HM Treasury approve the LSC's annual pay remit. The expenditure incurred by the LSC as bonuses is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  000 
			   2007-08  2006-07 
			 Executive team 137,000 95,000 
			 Staff other than the executive team and directors 685,000 416,000 
			 Directors 168,000 146,000 
		
	
	Bonuses paid relate to performance for the previous financial year. A breakdown of bonuses paid to individual executive team members in the past two years is shown in remuneration reports contained within the LSC's annual reports for 2007-08 and 2006-07, which can be found at:
	www.legalservices.gov.uk.

Legal Services Commission: Pay

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will remove any bonuses paid to the staff at the Legal Services Commission involved with setting up community legal advice centres and community legal advice networks.

Maria Eagle: Bonus payments for senior LSC staff (Executive Directors and directors) are determined by the achievement of shared and individual objectives which are linked to the LSC's corporate priorities as set out in its corporate/strategic plans. This approach means that bonus payments are made only when a corporate target or priority is achieved. The LSC's performance against its targets is reported on its annual reports, (available at www.legalservices.gov.uk).
	For staff below director level, the LSC operates a performance related non-consolidated bonus system. Non-consolidated bonuses are usually used to target one-off in-year contributions that are particularly significant but unlikely to be repeated and are therefore not something that the LSC would pay for year on year.
	Any bonuses paid to staff at the LSC involved with setting up community legal advice centres and community legal advice networks would have been paid in accordance with the criteria set out above.

National Offender Management Information System: Expenditure

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department and its predecessors spent on the procurement, development and commissioning of the IT system, C-NOMIS, in each of the financial years 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08.

David Hanson: The expenditure on C-NOMIS was 56 million in 2005-06 (including a small proportion incurred in earlier years), 69 million in 2006-07 and 52 million in 2007-08.
	Until December 2007, the active element of the NOMIS Programme was C-NOMIS. From January 2008, following a strategic review, C-NOMIS became Prison NOMIS, one of the projects in the revised NOMIS Programme.

National Offender Management Service: Buildings

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on the development of the National Offender Management Service's Headquarters to date.

David Hanson: As at the end of July 2008, a total of 699,000 had been spent on the development of the National Offender Management Service headquarters. This is not additional expenditure but a re-allocation of existing resources to this very important programme of work. 232,000 relates to permanent staff which have been seconded to the programme in either project management or subject matter expert roles, but their substantive roles have not been filled. 467,000 covers the use of specialist IT and consultancy support, predominantly using resources from the agency IT provider.
	The first phase of the programme covers the fundamental merger type aspects of transferring staff into the Headquarters, Areas and Regions of the NOMS agency and the associated issues around their terms and conditions, accommodation needs, IT requirements and the necessary transfer of data from Home Office to NOMS. The programme then consists mainly of an organisation design phase where the structures will be designed to be fit-for-purpose to meet the financial and operational challenges to March 2011.

PA Consulting

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what contracts his Department has with PA Consulting; and what the  (a) estimated value and  (b) expected duration of each such contract is.

Michael Wills: The information requested regarding the Ministry of Justice's current contracts with PA Consulting is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Ministry of Justice: current PA contracts 
			  Business group/details of contract  Date  Cost () 
			  National Offender Management Service (NOMS)   
			 Workforce Reform Management Consulting 1. July to December 2008 (1)424,000 
			  2. September 2008 to March 2009 (1) 
			 NOMIS (a single interactive database underpinning the reform programme in NOMS by supporting end-to-end offender management)   
			 (a) Commercial advice to the NOMIS project March to October 2008 (a) 338,000 
			 (b) Consultancy on Probation Case Management System August to October 2008 (b) 49,000 
			 ICT Group   
			 Technical Design Authority January to November 2008 590,000 
			
			  Access to Justice   
			 Confiscation Order Support 2008/09 Apr 2008 to March 2009 299,000 
			 Hearing Centre Standard June to December 2008 499,000 
			 Operating Model and Administrative Support Centre Design   
			 Assurance Programme August 2008 to February 2009 106,000 
			
			  Corporate Performance Group   
			 MOJ Transition Strategy, Planning and Performance, Change Programme April to September 2008 143,000 
			
			  Democracy Constitution and Law   
			 Change Management framework December 2007 to December 2008 499,500 
			
			  OCJR   
			 Virtual Courts Evaluation Framework July to September 2008 42,000

Political Parties: Finance

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether Electoral Commission guidance on trigger rules associated with the Political Parties and Elections Bill will be subject to delegated legislation procedures.

Michael Wills: The Political Parties and Elections Bill provides that the Electoral Commission may give guidance on triggering (clause 11 of the Bill). This guidance would form part of the code of practice on candidate spending definitions which the Commission has been empowered to produce since the Electoral Administration Act 2006 inserted provision into paragraph 14 of schedule 4A of the Representation of the People Act 1983. Under that provision, any code of practice produced by the Commission must be submitted to the Secretary of State for approval. It must then be laid before Parliament by the Secretary of State (unmodified, or with his explanation of the modifications he has made to it). Parliament then has 40 days to annul the draft if it chooses to do so, and if no such resolution is made, the code shall be published by the Commission to take effect on a date appointed by the Secretary of State.

Political Parties: Finance

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the provisions within the Political Parties and Elections Bill on the introduction of new trigger rules will apply to candidates for election to the  (a) European Parliament,  (b) London Assembly,  (c) post of London Mayor,  (d) Welsh Assembly  (e) Scottish Parliament,  (f) Northern Ireland Assembly and  (g) posts of directly elected mayors in local authorities; and what plans he has to include mechanisms to apply such provisions to future elected assemblies in the UK.

Michael Wills: No. The changes that re-introduce triggering will apply to candidates at general elections only, as described in the Explanatory Notes to the Political Parties and Elections Bill.

Political Parties: Finance

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the provisions within the Political Parties and Elections Bill on the introduction of new trigger rules are intended to apply to local campaign expenditure by hon. Members who are reselected as candidates by their local association prior to the dissolution of Parliament; and whether the trigger rules will apply to Communications Allowance expenditure by hon. Members in their constituencies.

Michael Wills: Incumbent Members of Parliament seeking re-election will be subject to the new regulations governing candidate expenditure in the same way as non-MPs. The date of Dissolution of Parliament, or adoption as a candidate (whichever is later) will no longer be the determining factor as to when the candidate spending limits contained in section 76 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 start to apply in a parliamentary general election.
	Once the provisions in the Political Parties and Elections Bill take effect, those limits will apply to any spending for the purposes of the candidate's election on the matters set out in schedule 4A of the Representation of the People Act 1983, whenever it is incurred.
	MPs receive parliamentary allowances to enable them to fulfil their duties as an MP. The Communications Allowance is provided to MPs to enable them to communicate proactively with their constituents and inform them about their parliamentary duties. The rules governing use of the Communications Allowance are very clear: the allowance must not be used for personal benefit or for party political campaigning. Provided the allowance is used in accordance with parliamentary rules, this means that expenditure of it would not trigger the candidate spending restrictions. Changes to the rules governing use of the Communications Allowance, further strengthening the prohibition on spending for political purposes, were approved by this House in July, and will come into force in spring 2009.

Prisoners

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent estimate is of the effect of the size of the prison population on levels of crime.

Jack Straw: Since 1997, the prison population has increased by 35 per cent. (from 61,500 in June 1997 to 83,200 in June 2008). Crime as measured by the British crime survey has decreased by 39 per cent. (2007-08 compared to 1997). As I have said on a number of occasions it is highly probable there is a link between these two trends, but there are no reliable estimates of the precise connection. Crime levels are affected by a range of factors, including demographic, social economic, crime prevention measures (for example, 'target handling' of premises and vehicles), more effective policing, the use of modern techniques (including CCTV) and the area crime reduction approach adopted by local authorities and communities. There is no accepted methodology for disaggregating these factors, either here or abroad. Some further information is available in the Managing Offenders, Reducing Crime report December 2003 by Lord Carter, and in Modelling Crime Reduction (Home Office online report 38/04).

Prisoners: Females

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of female prisoners he estimates have experienced  (a) domestic violence,  (b) sexual abuse and  (c) mental illness in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: The National Offender Management Service and the Department of Health do not routinely keep information on the number of female prisoners who have experienced domestic violence, sexual abuse and/or mental illness. The findings from research indicate that up to half of women in prison may have experienced domestic violence; that up to a third may have been victims of sexual abuse; and that four fifths have diagnosable mental health problems.

Reoffenders

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders  (a) released from prisons and  (b) who completed community sentences had already served one or more (i) custodial and (ii) community sentence, broken down by the number of previous sentences, in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

David Hanson: The requested information is not available. However, published statistics on reoffending include information on offenders who have completed their prison sentence or began a community sentence for the 1st quarter of 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. These statistics show the number of previous custodial sentences and the number of previous convictions.
	The following table shows how many offenders (released from prisons or commencing community sentences) had received at least one previous custodial sentence broken down by the number of previous custodial sentences
	
		
			Offenders released from prison  Offenders commencing court orders 
			 Number previous custodial sentences 2000 Q1 5,662 18,607 
			  2002 Q1 5,140 18,318 
			  2003 Q1 4,616 18,621 
			  2004 Q1 4,779 19,272 
			  2005 Q1 4,511 18,222 
			  2006 Q1 4,647 22,687 
			 One previous custodial sentence 2000 Q1 2,478 3,689 
			  2002 Q1 2,345 3,699 
			  2003 Q1 2,042 4,034 
			  2004 Q1 2,235 4,060 
			  2005 Q1 2,000 3,591 
			  2006 Q1 1,931 4,322 
			 Between two and five previous custodial sentences 2000 Q1 4,614 4,696 
			  2002 Q1 4,742 4,874 
			  2003 Q1 4,340 5,369 
			  2004 Q1 4,763 5,500 
			  2005 Q1 4,320 5,038 
			  2006 Q1 4,017 6,137 
			 Between six and 10 previous custodial sentences 2000 Q1 2,044 1,415 
			  2002 Q1 2,182 1,555 
			  2003 Q1 2,194 1,975 
			  2004 Q1 2,530 2,038 
			  2005 Q1 2,258 1,957 
			  2006 Q1 2,201 2,377 
			 More than 10 previous custodial sentences 2000 Q1 929 452 
			  2002 Q1 1,169 568 
			  2003 Q1 1,166 758 
			  2004 Q1 1,454 850 
			  2005 Q1 1,506 920 
			  2006 Q1 1,584 1,254 
		
	
	The following table shows how many offenders (released from prisons or commencing community sentences) had received at least one previous court conviction broken down by the number of previous convictions.
	
		
			Offenders released from prison  Offenders commencing court orders 
			 Number previous convictions 2000 Q1 1,475 6,062 
			  2002 Q1 1,353 6,047 
			  2003 Q1 1,322 5,655 
			  2004 Q1 1,416 5,831 
			  2005 Q1 1,409 5,592 
			  2006 Q1 1,576 7,111 
			 One previous conviction 2000 Q1 1,047 3,758 
			  2002 Q1 874 3,557 
			  2003 Q1 790 3,701 
			  2004 Q1 857 3,834 
			  2005 Q1 817 3,662 
			  2006 Q1 814 4,569 
			 Between two and five previous convictions 2000 Q1 3,601 8,418 
			  2002 Q1 3,201 8,251 
			  2003 Q1 2,785 8,549 
			  2004 Q1 2,903 8,792 
			  2005 Q1 2,645 7,944 
			  2006 Q1 2,660 9,857 
			 Between six and 10 previous convictions 2000 Q1 3,557 5,070 
			  2002 Q1 3,667 5,187 
			  2003 Q1 3,133 5,693 
			  2004 Q1 3,211 5,601 
			  2005 Q1 2,940 5,194 
			  2006 Q1 2,680 6,068 
			 More than 10 previous convictions 2000 Q1 6,047 5,551 
			  2002 Q1 6,483 5,972 
			  2003 Q1 6,328 7,159 
			  2004 Q1 7,374 7,662 
			  2005 Q1 6,784 7,336 
			  2006 Q1 6,650 9,172

Shoplifting

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people  (a) were cautioned for,  (b) received a penalty notice for disorder relating to and  (c) were convicted of shoplifting in 2007;
	(2)  how many penalty notices for disorder were issued in 2007, broken down by  (a) offence committed and  (b) police force area.

Maria Eagle: The information requested for 2007 will be available when it is published at the end of November 2008.

Women's Prisons: Crimes of Violence

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many violent incidents have been recorded in women's prisons over the last five years; and how many assaults on staff have been recorded in women's prisons in that time.

Maria Eagle: The term 'violent incident' is not used in the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) data. The nearest equivalent to 'violent incidents' in NOMS data is incidents of assault. Information on incidents of assault is set out in the following table but is subject to important qualifications. Assault data cover a range of behaviour and may include threatening behaviour, projection of bodily fluids, other non-contact incidents and allegations. Information on assault incidents may involve more than one assailant or more than one victim. In a proportion of incidents only the victim is known.
	The Prison Service incident reporting system processes high volumes of data which are constantly being updated. The numbers provide an indication of overall numbers but should not be interpreted as absolute.
	
		
			  Assaults in women's prisons over the past five years 
			   Number 
			 2003 521 
			 2004 566 
			 2005 637 
			 2006 697 
			 2007 658 
			  Note: The numbers supplied refer to the number of individual assault incidents. 
		
	
	 Assaults on staff in women's prisons over the past five years
	Assault information is recorded at establishment level where it is categorised into one of four categories: prisoner on prisoner, prisoner on officer, prisoner on other and other (including assaults or allegations of assault by non prisoners). The recorded incidents of assaults on prison officers are not completely exclusive to officers; establishment recording sometimes includes assaults on other prison staff in this category. The category prisoner on other contains few entries but these may include prison staff as well as visitors, legal visitors etc. This reply combines prisoner on officer and prisoner on other data categories.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2003 214 
			 2004 208 
			 2005 257 
			 2006 314 
			 2007 270

Women's Prisons: Equipment

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on the routine carrying of batons by prison officers in women's prisons.

Maria Eagle: Current Prison Service policy is that batons are not routinely carried by prison officers in the women's estate, the young people's estate or the open estate. However, they may be used in these areas as part of planned interventions by control and restraint teams in response to very serious incidents of disorder. The review into the use of batons in the women's and open estate is currently under way.

Women's Prisons: Equipment

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the recommendations were of the review on the use of batons in women's prisons; if he will place in the Library a copy of the conclusions of the review; and what alternatives are under examination to address violence in women's prisons other than equipping staff with batons.

Maria Eagle: The review into the use of batons in the women's and open estates is under way and due to report at the end of the year. A copy of the report of the review will be placed in the Library on its conclusion. A number of accredited programmes for women have been developed, or are in advanced stages of development, which are appropriate to violence reduction in the women's estate.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental ICT

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information technology projects initiated by his Department have been cancelled prior to completion in the last five years; and what the cost of each such project was to the public purse.

Paul Goggins: In the last five years no information technology projects initiated by the Northern Ireland Office have been cancelled prior to completion.

Homicide

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons were killed by a current or former partner in  (a) A District Command Unit area,  (b) B District Command Unit area and  (c) Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (i) sex and (ii) age of victim.

Paul Goggins: The Chief Constable has provided the following answer:
	The following tables detail the number of recorded murders with a domestic motivation as requested for the period 2004-05 to 2007-08. Figures prior to 2004 were counted and categorised according to Home Office Counting Rules, therefore any crime figures with domestic motivations from 2004-05 onwards are not comparable with those collected in previous years.
	
		
			  Recorded crimes with a domestic motivation: Offences of Murder( 1)  A and B Districts and Northern Ireland 2004-05 to 2007-08 
			  2004-05
			  District  Number of murders  Age/Gender of victim  Clearance Method 
			 A 1 One Female age 17 and over One Charge/summons 
			 B 2 Two Female age 17 and over One Charge/summons; one died before proceedings 
			 NI Total 7 Six Female age 17 and over; one Male age 17 and over Five Charge/summons; two died before proceedings 
			  Source:  Central Statistics Unit, PSNI 
		
	
	
		
			  2005-06
			  District  Number of murders  Age/Gender of victim  Clearance Method 
			 A 0   
			 B 1 One Female age 17 and over One Charge/summons 
			 NI Total 2 One Female age 17 and over; one Male age 17 and over Two Charge/summons 
			  Source:  Central Statistics Unit, PSNI 
		
	
	
		
			  2006-07
			  District  Number of murders  Age/Gender of victim  Clearance Method 
			 A  0 
			 B 0   
			 NI Total 1 One Male age 17 and over One Charge/summons 
			  Source:  Central Statistics Unit, PSNI 
		
	
	
		
			  2007-08
			  District  Number of murders( 1)  Age/Gender of victim  Clearance Method 
			 A 0 - - 
			 B 0 - - 
			 NI Total 3 Two Female age 17 and over; one Male age 17 and over Two Charge/summons; one Died before proceedings 
			 (1) The figures include those murders where the relationship identified was spouse -wife, spouse - husband, common law wife, common law husband, boyfriend, girlfriend (this is the terminology used in PSNI crime recording system). It also includes where the offence resulted in a clearance method of charge/summons or offender died before proceedings.  Source:  Central Statistics Unit, PSNI

Speed Limits: Cameras

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Police Service of Northern Ireland speed camera operations were carried out in each District Command Unit area in each of the last 12 months; and how much accrued from fines arising from these operations in each area over the same period.

Paul Goggins: The Chief Constable has provided the following response:
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of speed camera operations and detections April 2007 to March 2008 
			   April 2007  May 2007  June 2007  July 2007 
			  District  Number of camera operations  Number of detections  Number of camera 0perations  Number of detections  Number of camera operations  Number of detections  Number of camera operations  Number of detections 
			 A 42 24 37 37 32 12 11 21 
			 B 36 44 32 24 24 9 18 25 
			 C 44 72 59 197 68 246 80 211 
			 D 7 0 11 0 5 1 6 5 
			 E 23 359 19 328 17 254 22 278 
			 F 1 27 34 358 27 341 28 196 
			 G 7 85 29 155 29 154 35 204 
			 H 22 89 17 85 23 211 30 143 
		
	
	
		
			   August 2007  September 2007  October 2007  November 2007 
			  District  Number of camera operations  Number of detections  Number of camera 0perations  Number of detections  Number of camera operations  Number of detections  Number of camera operations  Number of detections 
			 A 27 9 19 13 34 31 10 0 
			 B 25 20 39 30 28 11 30 11 
			 C 75 250 60 124 66 181 75 182 
			 D 6 0 11 5 10 0 10 1 
			 E 17 320 23 327 13 224 20 207 
			 F 36 354 38 281 28 239 22 159 
			 G 37 235 29 215 38 255 22 114 
			 H 35 187 13 76 26 123 33 134 
		
	
	
		
			   December 2007  January 2008  February 2008  March 2008 
			  District  Number of camera operations  Number of detections  Number of camera 0perations  Number of detections  Number of camera operations  Number of detections  Number of camera operations  Number of detections 
			 A 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 B 8 9 20 4 6 2 26 28 
			 C 30 132 42 66 38 51 56 126 
			 D 3 1 21 3 6 3 5 0 
			 E 16 237 28 312 21 261 22 482 
			 F 48 242 30 126 26 151 31 167 
			 G 24 158 28 131 29 288 40 178 
			 H 29 145 16 40 34 90 26 89 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Total detections and revenue in  f inancial year  2007-08 
			  District  Total number of camera operations  Total number of detections  Revenue total () 
			 A 213 147 7,200 
			 B 292 217 10,080 
			 C 693 1,838 96,300 
			 D 101 19 2,940 
			 E 241 3,589 161,100 
			 F 349 2,641 94,560 
			 G 347 2,172 95,400 
			 H 304 1,412 68,400 
			 Total 2,540 12,035 535,980 
			  Note: Detections in any given year may not be directly related to revenue due to:  motorists having up to 4 months in which to pay from detection;  if case heard in court revenue not collected by PSNI; and  small number of cases may be cancelled.